After
by N.Q. Wilder
Summary: Set post-ME3 and sequel to "All Things Pass," "Sub Specie Aeternitatis" and "Never Again."  A story of the possible future for Commander Shepard and Liara T'soni.
1. Looking to the Future

**Looking to the Future**

One month after the victory against the Reapers and Enaila still couldn't believe how quickly the species of the galaxy had rebounded. Already businesses in the areas of the Citadel that had suffered the least amount of damage had reopened, hers included, and it seemed like life had resumed its normal pace. The three hundred year old asari knew better than to believe what her eyes told her, of course, but she had to admit that she _almost_ felt normal again. People scurried about the streets, running errands, buying and selling, living as if they had never existed under the shadow of almost certain destruction. The reminders of what had nearly come to pass were abundant though - the story of the human who had saved the galaxy rested on everyone's lips and on the lips of the media, certain parts of the wards were completely uninhabitable, and the galaxy was much emptier than it used to be. Enaila shivered at that thought. Not something she liked to think about.

She thanked the Goddess once again that she had recently been able to make contact with her mother back on Thessia. The weeks of uncertainty and worry, wondering if her mother had survived the attacks, were finally over, but the residue of those feelings still sat in the pit of her stomach. She _almost_ felt normal; but she knew that it would still be quite some time before she could forget the horror she had lived through.

Pushing those thoughts aside, she swept her stormy blue eyes around her store. She owned a small fabrics and thread store that sold exclusively asari made products. Her store had seen an increase in business after the Reaper attacks as asari on the Citadel seemed eager to get married - perhaps a reaction to facing their mortality. The asari tradition of marriage proposal entailed giving the intended bondmate a woven bracelet of five different colored threads. Each color represented something different, and the colors that one selected served as a sort of promise. Combining yellow with a certain shade of blue promised a life of adventure and travel, while green and white promised a secure and stable home life. There were a multitude of meanings and combinations and Enaila had spent a good portion of her life committing them all to memory. That information had certainly come in handy when she found herself the only seller of marriage threads on the Citadel for the time being.

As her eyes drifted over to the thread section of her store, she gave a start as she noticed the human who had somehow managed to slip into the store undetected. The woman stood with her hands in the pockets of her long, dark blue pants, staring at a row of blue threads with a frown etched across her face. She wore a black hoodie with red and white stripes down the sleeve of her right arm and her black hair hung loose around her shoulders. Enaila stared at the human for a while, wondering what had brought the woman to her store. Non-asari customers were rare, though she had certainly seen some before the Reaper attack, usually buying exotic fabrics in an attempt to prove how cultured they were. Yet, she had not seen a single non-asari since the attacks. Luxury items were not a high priority on anyone's list, and other species did not seem that interested in adopting asari marriage traditions. From Enaila's experience, humans especially seemed fixated on their own traditions - something involving a ring, though she was not sure of the details.

The human continued to frown at the threads in front of her while her face darkened into a mask of confusion. Enaila took a few more moments to study the strange customer; the woman looked oddly familiar for some reason, though Enaila did not know many humans. She could count the handful of humans she knew on one hand and yet this woman sparked something in the back of her head - the name lingering somewhere just out of reach. Or maybe it was her mind playing tricks on her.

Crossing over to the customer, Enaila flashed a friendly smile and asked, "Is there anything I can help you with today?"

The human turned slowly to look at Enaila, her features frozen in that confused expression: brows deeply furrowed and drawn down while her mouth pulled slightly in a frown. A fleeting moment of awkward silence and then her face transformed into an almost pleading expression and her tone certainly came across as meek. "Do all these shades of blue mean something different?" She sounded horrified.

Enaila found herself fighting not to burst out laughing. Despite the woman's befuddlement, it was immediately clear that she was a woman used to giving commands. A woman who always took the lead, who held herself with a certain air of assuredness. There was something inexplicable about the woman, a sort of aura that told Enaila that regardless of how relaxed the woman seemed now, she was a tightly coiled spring, ready to move at the first sign of danger. Yet, in spite of all that, the woman looked utterly lost, completely frightened at the prospect of having to select the threads for a proposal bracelet. That alone was enough to instantly soften the stranger in Enaila's eyes. It was just so... adorable. Enaila couldn't think of another word for it. And the notion made her want to laugh.

Though she managed to keep from laughing right in the customer's face, she couldn't help the upward twitch of her lips that betrayed her amusement. However, the human's face suddenly shone with a smile, as if all she had wanted was for Enaila to understand her joke. Maybe that was the truth. It was hard to tell.

Daring to allow her voice a bit of good humor, Enaila said, "Yes, I'm sorry to say they do all mean something different. Would you like some help?"

"I think I definitely need it," the human replied, shaking her head. "The extranet made this sound much simpler."

As Enaila listened to the woman's voice, the feeling of familiarity again itched at the back of her head. She could have sworn that she had heard that voice before. She knew that if the woman said just the right phrase she would be able to place the voice with a name. "Why don't you tell me what you had in mind for the bracelet and I can help you select the correct threads," she offered.

The dark haired human nodded, staring past Enaila as she ordered her thoughts. "I wanted the bracelet to represent a promise I made to her a long time ago. I promised that I would always come back to her, no matter what happened." Running a hand through her black tresses, the woman bit her lower lip uncertainly as she added, "I read that blue represented love and immortality to the asari. Also that white represented promises and that red could sometimes mean the future or trying to reach a goal. I thought," she hesitated, unsure, but then went on, "I thought maybe those three together could get across what I meant." Then gesturing feebly to the rows of blue thread before her she said, "I didn't realize that there would be so many different kinds of blue to choose from."

Enaila watched the human out of the corner of her eye, though she pretended to study the display of threads in front of her. The woman might not be as familiar with asari traditions as an actual asari, but she had certainly put some thought into this. Enaila's right hand hovered over the rows of blue thread until she plucked out a spool of the proper shade and then she ducked around the woman in order to grab a shade of red and white. "For the other two colors," she said, "I would recommend a second blue to reinforce your love and promise, and then add this shade of violet." She placed all five spools into the human's hands, smiling encouragingly. Enaila had never been this involved in someone else's proposal bracelet before - other asari usually had their own friends or relatives who advised them - and she felt strangely... attached to this woman. She looked so lost and so scared that Enaila couldn't help but want to help her find her way.

The woman looked down at the assortment in her hands and then gave Enaila a questioningly look. "What is the violet for?"

Laughing with a voice like chiming bells, Enaila answered, "For the color of your eyes." At the human's surprised expression, Enaila added, "You can pick the colors for more than just their meanings. And if you're wondering what that shade of violet means, it represents strength. A fitting thread, if I'm not missing my mark."

"Wouldn't it be better to use the color of her eyes though?" The human cast another doubtful look at the rows of blue thread.

"I think she might like the reminder of you," Enaila said carefully. True, she didn't know the asari in question, but she did know that the human's lifespan would be undeniably shorter than the asari's - provided nothing unexpected happened. It wouldn't hurt for the human to weave a reminder of herself into the bracelet so that her lover would think of her long after she was gone. Yet, Enaila hesitated to say such a thing out loud; the human might be understandably upset by the comment.

The woman seemed to catch her meaning regardless, and by the look on her face she didn't appear to be offended. She simply nodded in agreement before saying, "I think I will take your advice then."

Enaila gestured for the woman to follow her to the register. As she began tallying the total, she ventured, "You're the first human I've ever sold a proposal bracelet to."

The woman flashed a warm smile and answered, "I thought about proposing the human way - getting down on one knee and all that. But then I thought that that was kind of selfish of me. I didn't want to rob Li-" Her mouth suddenly snapped shut as she bit off what she was about to say. The name of her intended, no doubt, though Enaila didn't understand the secrecy. Instead, the woman amended, "I didn't want to rob her of the whole experience. I think the ceremony of it is probably just as important as the proposal itself."

Enaila found herself nodding; she thought she understood what the human meant. The proposal was more than just the question or the bracelet. There were the distinct visual cues that tipped the recipient off before the other person even proposed. Those moments of knowing what was coming, time for the magnitude of the decision to sink in, those moments were equally as important. If the human went with her own traditions then the visual cues might be lost on her partner. Whoever this asari was, she would undoubtedly be surprised when she saw the blue engagement ribbon tied above a doorway, and then see the human offer her an engagement bracelet.

"The main problem now though," the woman went on, rubbing a hand on the back of her neck, "is that I have to figure out how to braid the bracelet the right way." Then turning her head and murmuring under her breath she added, "And all I have for help is a turian, a quarian, and some equally clueless humans."

Catching a glimpse of the profile of the woman's face, Enaila felt her heart shudder to a halt and her mouth instantly hung open in disbelief. That nagging feeling in the back of her head that told her that she recognized this woman had returned and slammed her brain with the force of a hammer. As the strands of hair surrounding the human's face momentarily fell behind her ear and the woman gave a darkly thoughtful expression, an image of a news vid leaped to the forefront of Enaila's mind, broadcasting a name she had heard a thousand times in the past month. Commander Shepard. Savoir of the Galaxy. She looked different with her hair out of its tight, military bun and wearing civilian clothes, but she was undeniably the same person.

The woman glanced at Enaila out of the corner of her eye and immediately let out a heavy sigh. "Oh no," she muttered to herself. "You know, don't you?"

"You're her! By the Goddess! You're Commander Shepard! Savoir of the -"

Shepard quickly raised a hand to stop Enaila and said, "There's no need to list the titles." She sounded weary.

Enaila felt at a complete loss. The Savoir of the Galaxy in _her_ store! And she had helped her select threads for her proposal bracelet. No one would believe her if she told them. And to think she had treated this woman like she was just anyone else. "P-please," she stammered. "Don't worry about paying. It's the least I can do." She couldn't help but wonder who Shepard was planning to propose to. As far as Enaila knew there were only two asari ever on Shepard's squad. An asari justicar - which seemed an unlikely pairing - and Dr. T'soni, the daughter of Matriarch Benezia. Could that girl have captured the hero's heart?

The commander shook her head and held out her credit-chit. "No, please, don't do that. The council is paying my bills anyway. It's the very least _they_ can do. You don't owe me anything." She flashed a smile, but the tiredness remained in her eyes.

Enaila hesitantly accepted the offered credit-chit. She was too afraid to say no to Commander Shepard. She wanted to protest that she - and everyone alive - owed Shepard everything, but before she could speak the commander fixed her with a speculative stare.

"Actually, if you want to do me a favor, you could help me by telling no one that you saw me. For at least a week."

"Why?"

"I'm going to propose to Liara within that time. We don't watch the news, but other people do, and I don't want someone to ruin the surprise. The media will find out about it eventually, but at least I can try to keep the proposal special for her." Those violet eyes bore straight through Enaila. "Please, can you do that for me?"

The asari knew that if she went to the media with this information, she could rake in a substantial profit. The story would spread across the galaxy as soon as she shared it. Lauded by some as the happy ending the hero deserved. Condemned by others as the end of Shepard's bloodline. The pro-human groups especially would be in a fury. Humanity's greatest hero, and she planned to marry an asari. No doubt they would think it a betrayal. And the commander was right: it would all get out eventually.

But Enaila would not be responsible for it. She would repay the woman to whom she owed her life with her silence.

"Your secret is safe with me." Handing Shepard a bag containing the threads, she smiled and added, "May the Goddess bless your marriage." Their hands brushed as the human accepted the bag. "And thank you, Commander Shepard. I won't forget what you've done for me - for all of us."

~.~.~.~.~

Shepard drummed her fingers on the arm of her chair impatiently. The asari councilor droned on about yet another celebration they wanted her to attend - her presence would reassure the public that dark times were over, or some such drivel. She barely listened; she had told them countless times that she would be leaving tomorrow with Liara, and she would cut off all forms of communication with the outside world for two weeks. She would have made her absence longer if she didn't think the council would have a heart attack at the news.

She let Tevos finish her long, flowery appeal before resting her chin in the palm of one hand and saying, "No."

The councilors opened their mouths in unison to protest, but Shepard forestalled them by adding, "I _am_ leaving for two weeks. That is not negotiable." Then to catch them off guard and change the topic, she said, "You haven't mentioned the proposal I sent you."

All three exchanged glances, but the turian councilor spoke first. "You can't possibly expect us to approve of adding a seat on this council for every citadel race. You are not a politician, Shepard - you should leave those matters to us."

He always seemed angry when he spoke to her. She wouldn't be surprised if he argued that her hair was blue just because she said it was black. She remembered once joking with Ashley that the reason the turian councilor showed such hostility towards her was because he was secretly in love with her, but knew he couldn't have her. Well, it was probably true. Shepard smirked at the thought.

The asari councilor quickly interjected, her tone much more diplomatic. "Please understand, Shepard, that although humanity gained a seat on this council before other species, that was due, in no small part, to your accomplishments. A race must prove that they are deserving of a seat."

Shepard couldn't help her mouth twisting up into a snarl of disgust. She had expected this argument, heard it a thousand times before, but it still sickened her. That they thought they could play it off as a compliment in order to placate her just made it worse. "Humanity proved that it was a military power. Is that the only way to grab a seat on this council? The volus created the intergalactic banking system. Without them, intergalactic commerce wouldn't even be possible. I'd say they deserve a seat on this council just for allowing the rest of us to trade with one another."

The councilors again exchanged looks before the salarian councilor finally spoke up. "You may have a point about the volus, Shepard, and we will look into our policy towards some of the longer standing species, but... your proposal encompasses all races. You even suggested offering a seat to the krogan... and the geth!"

Shaking her head in disgust, Shepard couldn't hide the venom in her voice. "I didn't unite all the races of the galaxy so that you three could just divide us all again! Every race that fought in the war against the Reapers deserves a say in what happens in this galaxy. The krogan have been wronged by this council before, and they still fought for your lives - for all of our lives! And you spit on them yet again! And the geth put aside their old grudges, even gave the quarians back their home world, and you still think they're your enemies? A united galaxy is stronger than a fragmented one. Mark my words, I won't let you tear down everything I've done." Rising to her feet she fixed them each with a threatening stare. "I _will_ have an all inclusive council. I will have justice for everyone who died because the species of this galaxy were too slow to unite." Pointing a finger at them she lowered her voice. "You're right that I'm not a politician. That means I don't have a political career to protect. I won't hesitate to use my influence on this. I won't hesitate to use the public against you."

All three pairs of eyes watched her warily, no doubt aware that she told the truth. If they refused to support her proposal, she would take it to the media, to the public, and tell them all that the three councilors had refused to admit all other species. The backlash would be immediate and devastating. Even their own races would turn on them if the Savoir of the Galaxy named them villains. For now, and maybe even for a long time yet, Commander Shepard would have the support of the entire galaxy behind her and more power than anyone else. They would have to tread carefully with her.

Turning her back to them and heading for the door, Shepard waved a hand and said, "Well, if that's all there is, I have some final preparations to make before I leave."

Before she could reach the door, however, Councilor Tevos called after her. "Commander, there is one more issue we need to discuss. You still have not given us your recommendation to fill Councilor Anderson's seat on the council."

Shepard stopped in her tracks, a darkness spreading across her features. She had tried to push those thoughts from her mind, refusing to dwell on them. His empty seat had been a constant reminder of his death throughout the entire meeting. A reminder of all the things that were lost during the war against the Reapers.

"I don't care who you put on the council," she answered quietly, not turning around. "Let humanity vote on a representative."

The salarian councilor quickly replied, "I'm afraid that's not an option, Shepard. Admittance into the council is by appointment only. Your recommendation will hold great weight, however. You selected Councilor Anderson; it seems only fitting that you select the next human councilor."

Frowning, Shepard tried to think of someone who could adequately represent humanity. She didn't know many politically inclined people - all of her friends were fighters. She might have suggested Admiral Hackett, for his leadership experience, if she thought he would accept the position, but she knew that he wouldn't. She needed someone who could fight for humanity's interests, but who also knew how important galactic unity was. Someone she could trust.

Only one person had the experience and skills to survive on the council, but who Shepard knew would not betray what they had fought for. Glancing back over her shoulder she said, "Offer the position to my former crewmate, Miranda Lawson."

All of their eyes widened in shock. The turian councilor spat back, "The Cerberus woman? Are you crazy? We can't have a terrorist on this council."

"Ex-Cerberus," Shepard corrected with more patience in her voice than she felt. "Miranda left Cerberus to follow me. She refused to put a bullet in my head when The Illusive Man told her to. She helped me destroy Cerberus in the end. Miranda has proven her loyalty to me and to the galaxy." Plus, Shepard thought, she would fight passionately for humanity's interests and she would be on the council for a long time. Already young and a long lifespan before her, she would be a powerful ally on the council for a long time. If she accepted the position. Shepard thought she might though; it would be just the type of intellectual challenge Miranda would enjoy and she would be able to put all her talents to good use in politics.

Before the council could say anything else, Shepard headed for the door once more and said, "That's my recommendation. I'll check back in with you in two weeks."

She left them floundering behind her.

~.~.~.~.~

Growing up in a small, rural colony, Shepard had never had the opportunity to go to the beach as a child. The closest body of water had been the creek near her family's house which had emptied into a fairly small pond. The first time she encountered an ocean was on Virmire and she had hardly been in a position to enjoy a day at the beach. Therefore when it came time to select a destination for her get-away with Liara, Shepard felt drawn to the novelty of a beach retreat. It would be something new for her, and she knew that Thessia had a lot of oceans, thus the location might make Liara feel more at home. Briefly she had considered going to Thessia, but they would definitely be recognized there and they had agreed on somewhere small and isolated. The planet Shepard eventually picked was about the size of Mercury and had been relatively unaffected by the Reaper War. One of the few untouched worlds.

She lounged out on the porch of the beach house they had rented, the sun causing beads of sweat to roll down the sides of her face that were then dried by a cooling breeze from the sea. To a certain degree she felt as if she had stepped out of an old, Earth magazine with her red bikini and dark shades, resting in a beach chair with a book in her lap. It felt like an eternity since she had been able to sit down with one of her books of poetry and navigate the mysteries contained within. The low roar of the waves created a rhythmic pulse that match the cadence of the poetry, and the warmth of the sun was like an embrace from the earth. Even the smell of the sourness of the salt mixed with the ocean drenched sand was oddly comforting.

Reaching for the pen tucked behind one ear, Shepard made an annotation in her book, noting the abrupt shift in the rhyme scheme towards the middle of the poem. She tapped the end of the pen against her lips as she wondered why the poet might have made that decision. Suddenly she felt the tips of fingers sliding down her face to rest against her chin and tilt her face up towards the sun. Almost immediately she felt lips pressed lightly against hers and then she found herself staring up at Liara's smile as the asari stood behind the chair.

Grinning back, Shepard asked, "How was your nap?"

Liara laughed softly. "I cannot believe you let me just fall asleep in that hammock. I wasted our whole afternoon."

"It's our vacation, Liara. We don't have anything we have to do. I thought you could use the rest after what we've been through. Besides, I certainly didn't waste my day." Shutting her poetry book she waved it in the asari's face.

Snatching the book away playfully, Liara sidled around the chair and plopped down on Shepard's lap. She wore a black bikini, no sunglasses, and a loose, white cover-up around her waist. "Well, it is nearly dinner time. What would you like to do?"

Thinking of the bracelet hidden away in her luggage, Shepard said, "Why don't we go out to eat? Somewhere nice. I saw a small restaurant when we went into town that looked really nice."

Reaching out to move a stray lock of hair from around Shepard's face and tuck it behind her ear, Liara answered, "That sounds good. Let me shower and get dressed, and we can go."

Stealing another kiss before darting away, Liara disappeared into the house as Shepard took her time folding up the chair and resting it against the wall. She smiled as she thought about the other reason she hadn't bothered to wake Liara from her nap. She had had plenty of time to tie the blue engagement ribbon above the front door without the asari being any the wiser. Her plan was to go out to dinner with Liara and while walking back they would see the ribbon above the door. Before Liara could even piece the puzzle together, Shepard would produce the proposal bracelet, slip it onto Liara right wrist, and ask her to marry her. Simple, direct, and little room for error.

Keeping the weaving of the bracelet from Liara had been a test of subterfuge in and of itself. She had to ask Tali and Ashley to practically kidnap the asari for a couple of hours while she and Garrus studied diagrams and tried to figure out how to braid the bracelet correctly. Garrus had joked that following the diagrams was a lot like carefully calibrating a weapons system, but his talons had been less than adept at working with the narrow threads. But eventually the pair had succeeded, and Liara didn't seem at all suspicious from her girl's day out. In fact, when Shepard had asked the three women what they had done that day, they all just gave her sly grins and refused to tell her. She suspected that they had gone out to a club or something like that.

As Shepard saw it, the last obstacle that remained in her path was making sure that Liara left the house at the same time she did so that she could keep her from turning back around and spotting the blue ribbon prematurely. When she entered the house, she could hear the shower running and quickly went to the bedroom to change. Being an obsessive planner, Shepard had picked out her outfit well in advance: a sleeveless, black dress that hugged in the right places, yet had a look of effortless draping. It had the benefit of looking casual enough not to pique Liara's suspicions, but would still be appropriate for such a momentous occasion. And although it probably shouldn't have factored into the decision so heavily, Shepard thought she looked pretty sexy in the dress and if she was going to ask Liara to marry her, she figured appealing to Liara's eyes couldn't hurt.

Grabbing a simple handbag, Shepard carefully hid the proposal bracelet inside and used the remainder of her time fixing her makeup and slipping on her shoes. When Liara came out of the bathroom she had already changed into a flowing, light green dress with a swooping neckline that showed off the blue sapphire necklace at her throat: a gift from Shepard. She looked beautiful, like always, but the sight of her put butterflies in the commander's stomach. Her anxiety was small for the moment, but she knew it would grow as she came closer to actually proposing. She hoped that Liara wouldn't pick up on how nervous she felt.

As they left the house, Shepard made sure to loop her arm through Liara's and steer her away from the door. She silently prayed that Liara wouldn't suddenly remember that she had forgotten something and insist on going back inside. Luckily, the asari seemed content to be led down the stone walkway in front of the house and towards the small town. The town was so modest that they simply walked to the restaurant.

While the meal was nice, Shepard found herself distracted throughout dinner. She let Liara do most of the talking - she seemed more talkative than usual in fact - and struggled to keep her mind off her nerves. As the minutes ticked by, however, she felt more and more anxious. She was sure, or at least as sure as she could be, that Liara would say yes. They had talked about marriage before and the only real obstacle had been the Reaper War. It was everything else that terrified the commander.

Children? They had joked about it before, but never discussed it seriously. She was positive that Liara would be a fantastic mother, but would _she_ be a good parent? Would their child grow up confused with one parent being a human? Would her life be harder because of who Shepard was? Would she feel pressure to fill Shepard's shoes? And what about when Shepard died? Would the child feel hurt that she wouldn't be there for the majority of her life? And what if Liara didn't want children at all? She was so young by asari standards, hardly at the matron stage. If Shepard wouldn't be around for the majority of the child's life, would Liara even want to be burdened with a kid?

There were other issues of the future to address as well. What Shepard's role in a post-Reaper galaxy would be, how they could keep their lives as private as possible, and other similar problems. They were at an odd transition in their lives, and who could say how many things would change? And yet, despite all that, Shepard knew that she wanted to make the transition with Liara by her side.

Walking back from the restaurant, fingers interlaced with Liara's, Shepard felt her heart racing at the speed of mass effect drive. Liara was still being unusually talkative, for which Shepard was grateful because it covered for her nervous silence. She practically counted down the number of steps to the house and, more importantly, the front door where the blue marriage ribbon had been hung. Slipping her free hand into her handbag, she fingered the proposal bracelet, bracing herself for the moment when she would present it to Liara and change their lives forever.

They were only thirty feet from the house when something Liara said caught her attention and she asked, "Huh? Sorry, what did you ask? I got distracted for a minute."

The sun had begun to set and the front door was obscured by shadows, making it impossible to see the blue ribbon hanging above it. The asari tugged at her hand, steering her suddenly down a path that led along the side of the house and towards the beach. "I said that we should take a walk on the beach," Liara said, flashing an encouraging smile. "I read that walking on the beach at sunset is a traditionally romantic activity for humans."

As Liara led her towards the water, Shepard glanced back worriedly at the front door. She hadn't anticipated this setback and she didn't know how to say no without making Liara suspicious. So she had no choice but to follow Liara and simultaneously rack her brain for a solution to this unexpected dilemma. When they reached the sand, Liara kicked off her heels and skipped out towards the water's edge, forcing Shepard to abandon her shoes as well and follow after her lover. Stopping short of the tide, Liara stared out at the purple and red horizon. The clouds looked like insurmountable mountains in the distance, impossibly high and bathed in a coat of purple haze. Joining Liara, Shepard wrapped her arms around the asari's waist and let her lover lean against her as they watched the waves in silence.

Yet, while Liara was entranced by the beauty of the scene, Shepard was frantically searching for a way to redirect her back to the front of the house. She wanted to be careful not to arouse Liara's suspicion, but from the beach the most natural way to enter the house would be to use the back door. Perhaps she could claim that she had dropped something back on the road and ask Liara to help her search. Once they were back there, she would pretend to find it and then lead Liara to the front door. It wasn't a perfect plan, but it was the best she could think of under pressure. With luck, Liara would remain oblivious to her anxiety.

She was just about to clear her throat and put her plan into action when Liara twisted in her arms to face her. The asari cupped the human's face in her blue hands and stared intently into Shepard's violet eyes. Stunned, Shepard didn't know what to say - Liara had never done that before and the intensity of her gaze froze any words that might have escaped the commander's lips.

Suddenly she said, "You know I love you, don't you, Shepard?"

Pursing her lips in confusion, Shepard said slowly, "Of course I do, Liara. And you mean everything to me... but what is this about?"

But Liara just smiled and reached over to where her handbag was slung over her shoulder, taking out something small and black. Before Shepard could ask what she was doing, Liara dropped down to one knee, staring up at Shepard with a loving smile. "Sophia Shepard," she said, holding up the object, and flipping open the lid of a small, black ring box, "will you marry me?"

Shepard didn't even realize that she was gaping at the asari like an idiot, but she _was_ aware that her heart had gone into overdrive from a mixture of anxiety, surprise, and confusion. Her eyes continuously flicked from Liara's deep, blue eyes to the diamond ring being offered to her and back. Her mind, so fixated on her own plans, had been completely derailed and now she found herself struggling to make sense of the moment. Part of her recognized the scene before her - a person down on one knee, offering a ring as a promise of their love. Part of her recognized the words - the big question with only two possible answers that would determine their future. And part of her recognized how oblivious she had been about Liara's behavior leading up to this moment - Ashley and Tali's conspiratorial grins after their day out with Liara and refusing to tell her what they had done, Liara's tendency to ramble and talk whenever she was nervous. Logically it all made sense to Shepard, but her mind still felt stuck on the thought that _she_ was going to propose to Liara.

Unable to think of anything else, Shepard couldn't help but laugh softly and raise a nervous hand to her forehead, shaking her head. "I - I can't believe you beat me to it," she said at last.

Without rising, Liara tilted her head. "What do you mean?" she asked, the faintest hint of doubt in her voice, perhaps due to Shepard's strange response.

Gesturing weakly towards the house, Shepard answered, "I was going to try to get you to go back to the front door. I hung a blue marriage ribbon there. I was going to propose to _you_."

Liara's stare suddenly became blank and she looked as shocked as Shepard felt. After a moment she said, "You... you were going to propose in the asari way?"

"I even made you an engagement bracelet," Shepard informed her, reaching into her handbag and pulling out the bracelet to show her.

Liara shifted as if to rise and examine the bracelet, but she quickly froze and remained knelt. As a grin crept across her lips she said, "If I understand human tradition correctly, I am not supposed to stand until you give me an answer, Shepard."

Laughing mirthfully, Shepard exclaimed, "Yes, Liara! Of course my answer is yes!"

Rising, Liara took Shepard's left hand and slipped the ring onto her third finger. Both laughed as Shepard tied the bracelet around Liara's right wrist.

Still laughing, Shepard swept Liara up in an embrace, lifting the asari's feet from the ground and spinning her around. "I still can't believe you beat me to it!" she exclaimed as she set Liara back down.

Draping her arms around Shepard's neck and running her fingers through her dark hair, Liara said, "Given your cautious nature, I thought I would have to wait forever for you to propose. If I had known better, I would have left it to you because ring shopping was a nightmare," she added in good humor. "Thank the Goddess I had Ashley and Tali to help me."

Scoffing, Shepard replied, "Yeah, well, making that bracelet wasn't exactly a picnic either, Dr. T'soni. And I didn't even get the chance to propose!"

Leaning in so that their lips nearly brushed, Liara murmured, "Just so you know, my answer would have been yes, Commander."

Smiling as their lips met, Shepard drew Liara deeper into the embrace, wishing she could hold every inch of Liara against her in that moment. Nothing had ever felt more real to her than right then. It felt as if everything she had fought for - the lives, the freedom, the future - were embodied in Liara. Liara was all she had ever wanted, all she had ever wanted to fight for.

And finally she had won.

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.**

**Greetings, friends! Hope you enjoyed this first chapter. I decided to put this author's note at the end because I have a few things I need to say (about updates on this story and the story in general), and I want to give anyone who doesn't give a crap what I have to say a chance to bail out now... Are they gone, yet? Good. Time for the author's note!**

**Let me start by saying sweet-jesus-holy-freaking-god-have-mercy (Yes, I'm from the south. Why do you ask?) this took a long time to write! I've been super busy lately and just finding the time to sit down and write out this story was a struggle and then it ended up being rather lengthy. But I really wanted to post this first chapter before I left for Japan, so I went into crunch mode to complete it on time. People who have followed me for a while may know that I normally don't post a story until I have a buffer of chapters already written, but this will have to be a little different. I don't have the time to create a buffer and since I will be in a foreign country soon, updates may be few-and-far in-between. I hope you will be patient with me and forgive my tardiness. I have recently realized that I have many more watchers (is that even the right term?) than I knew (I finally looked through the email notifications sent to the email account I rarely use) since there are many who do not review. I am extremely flattered by this realization, and I also want to reward all of your interest in my stories. I will do the best I can to update this story in a reasonable timeframe.**

**Now, let's talk about what I plan for this story to be. I decided to take on the ambitious project of trying to predict post-ME3. I am fully aware that this is dangerous territory to walk into. Everyone has their own ideas of what will happen in ME3 and after, and I certainly don't want to step on anyone's toes there. So first off, I reserve the right to trash this or revise once ME3 comes out because I have no clue if any of my assumptions will be right. Second, I promise to make as logically sound predictions as I possibly can. I will have to make a few leaps of faith here and there, but I will try to ground as much of this in fact and logical predictions as possible. Third, if you disagree with my predictions, think I have poorly explained my reasoning behind something, or just want to tell me off for some reason, I give you the right to do so. I will be more than happy to discuss post-ME3 predictions and will weigh all criticism received. Or if you want to know why I think something in particular will happen (like Anderson dying) feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer your questions. As always, I maintain an open policy and welcome any feedback or questions.**

**On the subject of this story: I've read a couple of interpretations of post-ME3 and they all seem to have a common factor of Shepard being the one to propose to Liara. I wanted to do something different, and the more I thought about having Liara propose, the more I liked it. It feels appropriate for this pairing. The only downside was that because of the way I handled this I had to come up with an idea of what asari marriage traditions would be like. I have never looked up engagement stuff on the internet before. It was somewhat mortifying because I am not the type of girl who sits around planning her wedding. I promptly deleted my history. So let's just keep that a secret, hm? As for placing Miranda on the council, aiming for an all-inclusive council, etc. all of those decisions were based off this Shepard's outlook and what seemed logically sound.**

**I don't mean to bore you with my rambling, so I'll wrap this up. Like I mentioned above, I will be leaving for Japan very soon. I should have internet without any problems, but obviously I'll be adjusting to a foreign culture and working hard just to understand the language let alone taking classes. Until I can update again, I wish you all the very best.**

**~N.Q. Wilder**


	2. Plans

**Plans**

_Excerpt from Citadel News_

Sources indicate that Commander Shepard, Savior of the Galaxy and hero of the Reaper War, is currently engaged to her long-time crewmate, Dr. Liara T'soni. Evidence suggests that the couple have been together since the first Reaper attack on the citadel, over three years ago. The news of their engagement has been met with mixed reactions. Councilor Tevos, the asari representative on the Citadel Council, said that she wished both of them the best of luck and added that the commander deserved the opportunity to settle down after the fight against the Reapers. When pressed what Commander Shepard's role as a spectre and hero would be in the coming months, Councilor Tevos commented that "the Council holds Commander Shepard in the highest respect and hopes that she will choose to remain the Citadel's top spectre agent." Meanwhile, the Alliance has continued to refuse commenting on any of the commander's actions. Shepard's relationship to the Alliance remains unclear at this time. Other human organizations, particularly pro-human groups such as Terra Firma, have been much more vocal in their condemnation of Shepard's actions. Terra Firma released this statement in response to the news that Shepard was engaged to an asari: "We are disappointed in Commander Shepard's decision to turn her back on humanity. Losing Shepard to the asari is a blow to the human race and it will take some time to recover. We had great hopes for Shepard's bloodline, but those hopes will likely not come to fruition now. We can only hope that the commander reconsiders her decision." Neither Shepard, Dr. T'soni, nor any member of her crew have been able to be reached for comment.

~.~.~.~.~

A storm raged outside, rain beating against the windows like fingers tapping on glass. Thunder growled softly, far off, and occasionally lightning stirred shadows across the darkened bedroom that would quickly settle back to black. In their apartment on the Citadel, Shepard and Liara listened to the storm outside with the knowledge that, at least for the moment, they were sheltered against it. Liara lay wrapped in the sheets with her head against Shepard's chest, left hand intertwined with Shepard's right while the human's left traced tiny circles across Liara's bare back. Head propped up on the pillow, the commander stared at the top of the asari's head without really seeing. Her mind drifted to thoughts of the upcoming wedding - they had decided to mix human and asari traditions and there was still planning that needed to be done - then to her difficulties with the council - they were still dragging their feet on her proposal for an inclusive council - and then finally to her typical concerns about the future.

She didn't know whether to stay a spectre or rejoin the Alliance or quit altogether. She had grown used to being a well known person throughout the galaxy a long time ago, but now it seemed like everyone wanted something from her. Everyone _expected_ her to lead them somewhere; no one seemed to know where exactly, but they were positive that it would be better than where they were. And then there were the snatches of the news that she had overheard in which people were discussing her bloodline. Pro-human groups bemoaning that her bloodline was at an end while asari groups argued whether an asari offspring would bear any of Shepard's traits and debating the details of asari reproduction in general. It nearly sent her into a rage just thinking about it. All those outside people making plans for her, and her and Liara's possible offspring. Making plans for _her_ children. She didn't even know if her and Liara would have children, but if they did she certainly wouldn't allow others to dictate her future. She would do whatever it took to protect her child.

She wasn't sure what Liara was thinking about at the moment, but she suspected it might be the same, or at least similar. She had been silent for a while and Shepard might have believed that she was asleep if it weren't for the fact that she could feel Liara's quickened pulse. Liara's heart drummed against the side of her stomach, echoed against her ribs so that it felt like it was her own heart beating wildly. Shepard had no idea why Liara's pulse had hastened, not when they were just lying there in bed. But she didn't dare to ask. If Liara was nervous or angry about something, Shepard would let her come to her in her own time.

Tilting her head forward she kissed the top of Liara's scalp affectionately, a reminder that she was there and willing to listen, but not demanding that Liara speak her mind. The asari gave a start, as if she had been suddenly dragged back to reality, then drew even closer to Shepard, pressing nearer as if afraid of losing her. She was silent for a few moments longer and then said, "Shepard, I..." She trailed off, uncertain, and Shepard could feel her heart drumming even faster. She must have been nervous, not angry. Propping herself up on her elbow, Liara raised her head to look into Shepard's eyes. Chewing her bottom lip she said, "Shepard what do you want in our future? I mean... I was just wondering what you want life to be like after we are married." She blushed, though Shepard was not exactly sure why.

She could understand her nervousness though. Shepard wondered about their future almost constantly and she also wondered what Liara wanted from their future. She had been too afraid to ask because she feared that their desires might not align. She was a realistic woman, she knew there were several things they might have differing opinions on, and she also knew that they needed to discuss those things before they got married. Being such an obsessive planner she had played the possible responses from Liara a thousand times in her mind and thought of how she might react to each. She had thought about what was most important to her, the things she had to have and the things she could do without, and she had realized the most important thing was having Liara. She was willing to give up almost anything else for that.

Still, she knew that she had to be honest with Liara and tell her all the things she had been mulling about in her head for the past few weeks. "I've thought a lot about it," Shepard told her. "The council wants me to stay a spectre. I think they're afraid not to have me close at hand or where they can keep an eye on me. And if I stay a spectre I can keep an eye on them in turn and continue to help the galaxy, but I'll be in danger a lot. I'm afraid the council might expect the impossible from me now - they might send me into impossibly dangerous situations. And I don't want to risk that because I don't want to hurt you. I've also thought about rejoining the Alliance, but I think the problem will be the same there. Plus I don't want to have to be away from you for long periods of time. I want to be with you." Taking a deep breath, Shepard then admitted, "But I know that I can't just retire either, Liara. I hate to admit it, but I'm addicted to the action. I've been fighting and struggling for so long that I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I just stopped. And I don't know if there's a middle ground. I'll try to think of something because I don't want to put myself in danger, because I know you don't want me to put myself in danger, but I can't stop being a soldier either. I just don't know what I will do yet."

"I thought you might say that," Liara said. "I wondered if you would be able to give up being a soldier. I could never imagine you doing something... tame." Smiling, she brushed the fingers of her left hand against Shepard's cheek. "And you are right that I do not want you constantly far away and in danger. I had hoped that after the Reaper War we would not have to be apart any longer."

A pang of guilt stabbed at Shepard's chest. She wished that she could just settle down with Liara, but who she was made something as simple as that too difficult. Not only was her fame going to be a constant issue, but her own need to lead, to be in the thick of the action might drive them apart. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt Liara.

"I'll think of something, Liara," she promised. "I just need to think about it. I know I will think of something."

Nodding, Liara answered, "If anyone can it is you." Then she grew quiet again, averting her eyes from Shepard's, her left hand coming to rest on the human's collar bone. Instinctively, Shepard laid her own hand on top of Liara's, squeezing softly. Liara had flushed a darker blue again in embarrassment, but Shepard still had no idea why. Finally, Liara said, "Um... Do you remember what you said before, about marriage, old age, and... and a lot of little blue children?" Shepard's stomach immediately did a flip as her level of nervousness skyrocketed to meet Liara's. This would be the most difficult question to answer, and the most important thing they would have to discuss. "Did you... did you mean what you said?"

"I've thought a lot about this too," Shepard admitted. "I decided that... I want whatever makes you happy." Taking a deep breath, Shepard steeled herself to explain her reasoning. She knew that she had to let Liara know that she understood the situation. She had to make sure Liara understood the situation too. "If the question were: "do I want to have children with you?" I would say yes. I grew up in a big family, and I loved - still love - them all dearly. And part of me wants that back. I want a family, and more than anything I want a family with you. But... I know it's more complicated than that. Any child we had would be under constant harassment by the press. I don't know how normal a life we could provide for her. I don't know if having me as a parent would be a hindrance to her." Taking another deep breath, she continued, "And the biggest issue is whether you are ready for kids. You're young by asari standards. You have hundreds of years left to live and I... I won't be around as long. After the Lazarus Project and all the... modifications, I think I might live longer than a normal human. Miranda told me once that she will likely live to be a hundred and fifty. I might live as long, if not longer. But even so I won't be around for the majority of our child's life. And I don't know if that's fair to her and I don't think it's fair to you. And maybe you're too young to have kids. I just... I just don't think I have the right to make this decision. So, if you want to have children, then I promise to love our daughter or daughters and protect them. But if you don't want to have children, if you're not ready or you are unsure of what will happen when I'm gone... then I am ok with that too. I promise to love you no matter what and I promise to be devoted to our family, no matter how many of us are a part of it." 

Her heart still pounded in her chest as the last words left her lips. The mixture of emotions present on Liara's face were too numerous to separate and discern. Shepard hoped that Liara understood her reasons for choosing to hand the decision to her. She knew that she was placing a burden on Liara, but she had been honest: the decision had to be Liara's because she would live long after Shepard was gone. All that remained was Liara's response.

Sapphire blue eyes stared at Shepard, unblinking, while her bottom lip quivered. A tense silence lapsed before Liara said, "I do not know what to say. I - You mentioned the things I have been worried about for a while. All the things I have been trying to figure out." She sighed, smiling. "It is actually a relief that I do not have to explain them to you. There are things I hate to think about... hate to say too... and the fact that I do not have to, that you understand... makes it easier." She stared at a point on the far wall for a while, gathering her thoughts before she said, "Since you were honest with me, I need to be honest with you, Shepard. I am frightened. By the idea of having children and wondering if I will even know how to raise a daughter." Her eyes drifted back to Shepard and she gave a warm smile. "I know any children we had would love you. I know you would be a wonderful parent. But I am afraid I would mess it up. I have gotten better, but my social skills are still lacking in some areas, and my own mother was not always the best example. What if I became like Benezia and pushed our daughter away? I am afraid... that when you are gone I will not know what to do and she will drift away from me without you to keep us all together. You always hold people together, Shepard. And when you disappear... things fall apart."

Shepard felt like she had been sucker-punched right in the stomach. The realization that Liara thought _she_ might be a bad mother was both shocking and practically unfathomable. Liara was the light of her life, the most amazing person she knew. Shepard, on the other hand, knew that she had the capacity to harm those around her just by being who she was. She was the primary danger to their child, not Liara.

Cupping Liara's face in her hands, Shepard said, "How could you think that? You would be an amazing mother, Liara. You would teach our child patience, curiosity, kindness, and courage. And how could she drift away from you when love would bind her as tightly to you as it does for me? She would worship the ground you walk on like I do. It would be me that would struggle to be a good parent. I want her to be able to choose her own path, not feel pressure to live up to the expectations anyone else has because of who I am. I want to be more than a tough, military parent. I want her to see me as more than Commander Shepard. I want her to know that I love her no matter who she chooses to be."

Eyes shining with sudden warmth, Liara answered, "You make her sound real already, Shepard. I can almost see her in my head, and thinking of her puts my heart more at ease." Then, wrapping her arms around Shepard and pressing close, resting her head on the human's shoulder she asked, "Do you think she will be as hot-headed as you?"

Realizing that Liara had used the future tense, had said "will she be..." instead of "could she be," made happiness blossom in her heart like a springtime flower. She could almost see their daughter in her mind as well, a hope that she had not dared to allow herself to imagine until now. But now that little girl was a real vision of the future. A future of the family Shepard would regain after so long.

Hugging Liara close to her and grinning, Shepard said, "I think she will definitely be as determined as her mother."

And so the couple talked about their daughter as the night wore on. Planning, describing, and loving their new hope for the future, aware of the storm raging outside but choosing to ignore it while they were sheltered in each other's arms.

**~.~.~.~.~**

**Greetings from the world of tomorrow a.k.a. Japan (because we're ahead of everyone else time zone-wise)! Let me begin by saying thank you to those who gave such wonderful reviews for the first chapter. All of them brightened my day and I appreciated all the well-wishes for my trip, even though none of you know me personally. I was very touched by all of your comments. I'm thrilled that people have responded well to the first chapter and I feel optimistic about where this project is going. It is difficult to write something post-ME3 and still appeal to different people, I think, but I hope to offer a probable prediction and a fun story.**

**Anyway, I just wanted to share a funny story (or something I thought was amusing). I've been wanting to write this conversation between Liara and Shepard for a long time (I almost placed it in one of the previous stories, but decided that it wasn't the proper time) because I think it's the elephant in the room that I haven't really seen other fanfics address at length. I think we all like to think of Shep and Liara having kids post-ME3, but I definitely couldn't blame Liara for being like hell no. She'll be a mom long after Shep is gone and she's so young. But that's not what I wanted to talk about. I wanted to share what was the most perplexing and difficult logic puzzle while writing this chapter. Anyone care to guess what question stumped me and required me to scour google for answers? Have something in mind? The answer: Is it possible for it to rain/storm on the Citadel? Seriously, this question had me really worried. I wanted it to be stormy at the beginning of the scene because of the literary implications, and I wrote it originally without much thought to the logistics. Then, while proof-reading I suddenly realized that it might not be possible to have rain on the Citadel since it is a space station. I thought about changing it to be safe, but I **_**really**_** wanted it to be stormy. I just like how it mirrors the metaphorical storm in their lives. So I did a bit of research about storms in space. I'm still not positive whether it would ever storm on the Citadel, but I decided to leave it in because I figured it was **_**theoretically**_** possible. Seriously guys, I learned how the weather works **_**in space**_** because I was so worried about whether this was even theoretically possible. I have problems.**

**As for the next update, I'm afraid I can't really give any kind of date for that. I need to figure out how far ahead I want to jump chronologically. I know some of you might want the wedding itself, but I don't want to look up anymore marriage stuff... it makes me feel like a creeper for some reason. I also don't have any ideas for it either, so I'm favoring just skipping it. The question then becomes how far ahead to skip. I'll need to think about it some.**

**As always, thanks for reading and thanks to those who are kind enough to review. I wish you all the best.**

**~N.Q. Wilder**

**P.S. I don't think speaking broken Japanese and English has completely screwed up my brain yet, but if you catch any typos let me know and I will fix them. Thanks!**


	3. Planting the Seeds

**Planting the Seeds**

_One year later..._

"The purpose of this meeting," Councilor Tevos said in her usual, formal tone, "is to discuss the proposal submitted to this council by Commander Shepard. I hope you all have had a chance to familiarize yourself with the proposal beforehand." She glanced around the circular table before focusing on the human woman seated at the opposite end from her. A human dressed in formal military attire, looking the picture of professionalism. "Commander Shepard has been kind enough to join us for an informal interview. If you have any questions about the proposal, now is the time to ask."

Ten faces all turned to stare at the woman, each containing vastly different expressions. All the councilors were new, save for the asari, turian, and salarian. Shepard had gotten her all-inclusive council after a bit more fighting with the old council, but she doubted many knew the role she had played. Not all the species had gained a seat either. Only races that chose to consider themselves council races had been offered a seat, but some of the new additions had still shocked the media. The krogan councilor stared at Shepard with almost solid green eyes, looking ready for a fight despite the location; not necessarily with her, but with anyone who looked at him the wrong way. The quarian councilor's face was obscured behind her blue mask while the hanar next to her was equally as unreadable. The volus and elcor councilors seemed the most comfortable with their new positions, their struggle to be included a long time in the making, but they still shot occasional glances at the original councilors as if trying to gauge their approval. With the council being so fragmented and new, Shepard figured now was the time to hit them with her vision for the future. She needed to strike the iron while it was hot so that the sword she envisioned would be fully formed by the time everything cooled.

For her part, Shepard tried to ignore the two familiar and friendly faces on the new council. Miranda also did her best to show no particular interest in Shepard, although everyone knew of their history. It was the obstacle they both knew would be their greatest challenge: to make everyone forget that they were allies. They had gone so far as to plan a few arguments that they could stage to make the other councilors believe that they were not as friendly as everyone thought. Miranda was the human councilor and her job would not be any easier if all the other councilors thought that she was in Shepard's pocket.

The other friendly face was also the oddest member. A geth's presence put all the other councilors, besides Miranda, on edge. That had been the hardest won battle, convincing the original council to offer a seat to the geth. Legion's time aboard the Normandy had given the rest of the geth a better understanding of organics, but old grudges died hard. Hopefully in time they would accept the geth as a part of their coalition, but for now Shepard could use their concerns about the geth to her advantage. They had been more than understanding when Shepard approached them with her idea and had been easily won over to her side. Part of her suspected that the geth were also honoring the memory of Legion by helping his human friend. The geth, Miranda, and Shepard had planned their moves carefully for this meeting, aiming to manipulate the council in support of Shepard's proposal.

At this point, Shepard considered herself an expert at maneuvering the council. As long as she stuck to the plan and pushed where she needed to, she should be able to win this argument and begin to set the future in place. Unfortunately, she found her mind divided today; and no matter how much she tried to bring her full attention to the present, she caught herself slipping back to her other thoughts every few seconds. She wondered if Liara was still asleep - it was about mid-morning - or if her wife had already begun going about her day. Garrus and Tali were staying with them in their apartment on the Citadel, and Shepard trusted them to take care of Liara, but she still felt the familiar knot of worry in her stomach. She felt guilty for agreeing to speak to the council today, but Liara had insisted that Shepard go forward with her plan, protesting that she didn't need constant supervision. The commander's hand itched towards her omni-tool, the desire to check her messages suddenly surging while she thought about her wife, but she wrestled her emotions down and focused her attention back on the task at hand.

"Shepard, what you have suggested is recklessly dangerous," the turian councilor said, as cheerful as always. "A united Citadel military will not be supported by the public. They will think we are trying to exert too much control."

Calmly, Shepard replied, "A united military would have been indispensable during the Reaper War, Councilor. It could have been mobilized faster and would have been larger than all the other militaries combined. The purpose of this military would be to protect the public from various threats, not police them. It will never engage in any kind of policing activities."

"But do we even need it?" the salarain councilor piped in. "Reaper threat is gone. Independent militaries are sufficient for protecting the interests of the species."

"Yes, it is needed. The Reapers might not be the only threat the galaxy ever sees. I hope that the galaxy never faces anything so dire again, but none of us can be sure. Also, not every race has a military. This united military would protect _everyone's_ interests, not just those of a select few races." The hanar, volus, and elcor visibly reacted to that, each shifting at the words. They knew she meant the words for them, and the idea of being equally protected no doubt resonated with them. The three original councilors also shot uneasy looks at the newer members, no doubt realizing that they had lost some ground there.

"How would we keep such a military from possibly going rogue?" the turian countered. "Who would even be in charge of such a force?"

"The military would be led by a cabinet of admirals, much like the system the individual militaries already employ. The military would work in conjunction with this council, in the same way that spectres do. They military would take orders from the council, but it would be up to the admirals how to fulfill those orders. As for keeping the military from going rogue, it would be nearly impossible for a military comprised of every council race to target any single race. So for example, the military would never target the krogans for war because the krogan soldiers would obviously rebel. Plus, soldiers will build a bond with each other, regardless of race, and they will not appreciate attacking their friends. That is the goal of this military: to break down the barriers that separate the races." She watched the krogan councilor out of the corner of her eye, noting the narrowing of his eyes as he remembered the krogan rebellions and being targeted by the council once before in the past. Since her gaze was fixed on the turian councilor she clearly saw his struggle _not_ to look at the krogan.

Surprisingly, it was the hanar who spoke next. "This one humbly notes that the esteemed commander repeatedly says that all races will be included in the proposed military. Yet, this one wonders how certain races will fare as soldiers."

Inclining her head towards the hanar, trying to show an appropriate level of courtesy, Shepard answered, "You're right, Councilor, that not all races will be expected to have soldiers in the field. But a military has use for all kinds of talents and personnel. As I understand, the hanar have some experience training elite operatives and that knowledge could be very valuable. No doubt there are other talents that the hanar could supply. I firmly believe that everyone has something to contribute to this effort."

Hanar were nearly impossible to read, at least for Shepard, and she had no idea if her words had made an impact with him. He didn't argue with her though, so she decided to take that as a good sign. Liara probably could have deduced what the hanar was thinking, she had become surprisingly good at analyzing all kinds of reactions, but Shepard would have to settle for guessing. She should have had the foresight to ask Liara to give her some pointers on what to look for when dealing with the other races. Shepard knew humans, turians, asari, salarians, quarians, krogans, and even geth after having worked closely with them all, but she didn't have as much experience with the other races. She felt sure that elcor couldn't lie at least, since they would preface the lie by admitting it, but volus could be quite cunning and hanar were a complete mystery. Liara had worked with nearly every race during her work as an information broker, however, and she probably knew more about them in a negotiation setting.

Thinking of the past brought Shepard's thoughts to the Shadow Broker base and an idle curiosity as to what Feron was up to. Shortly after their engagement and before their marriage, Shepard and Liara had had to discuss what they would do about the broker base and Liara's role as the Shadow Broker. With folded arms and a stern frown, Shepard had stubbornly stood by her strong feelings that Liara should give up being the Shadow Broker. She hated to think of Liara doing that kind of work and she urged Liara to go back to what she really loved doing: studying protheans. She had also suggested torching the base - or what was left of it after the Reaper War - and saying good riddance to the Broker altogether. The galaxy would be better off without someone like that around. While Liara showed only a little reluctance to quit being the Broker, she did argue against destroying the base, insisting that Feron should be the new Shadow Broker. She pointed out that if they destroyed the Shadow Broker, eventually a new Broker would arise from the void created, and it would be someone whose intentions were unclear. Better to ensure the Broker was someone they could trust and who would not use the information for a nefarious end. Grudgingly, Shepard had admitted that Liara was right and had agreed not to blow up the base, but she was extremely relieved when Liara applied for a grant to study protheans and handed the reigns over to Feron.

Of course, thinking of Liara immediately turned her thoughts to the main focus of her life at the moment. Her mind seized on her memory of the night before.

_Shepard walked out of the kitchen into the living room, drying her hands on her long, black pants. She had just finished cleaning the kitchen after a welcome dinner for Garrus and Tali who were staying with them for the next few days. Both tired, her friends had already gone to bed and Shepard would probably retire soon so that she got enough rest before her showdown with the council._

_Liara sat on the couch watching the news with a mug of tea in her hands. A little more than a year after the Reaper War and Shepard found herself in the news less and less, which was a great relief. The story running at the moment was about the new council and the various reactions to such a drastic change in Citadel politics. Since so few people knew the role Shepard had played in bullying the old council into opening their doors, her name was absent from the news coverage. Plopping down next to her wife, Shepard kissed Liara's cheek while laying a hand on her swollen belly affectionately. Like usual, Liara placed her hand on top of Shepard's so that both of their hands rested above their child._

_Glancing at the television, Shepard said, "I hope I did the right thing forcing the council to make that decision. The media seems shocked by the whole thing."_

_"I think you did a wonderful thing, Shepard," Liara answered, sincere warmth in her voice. "You made sure everyone is treated fairly. I think the galaxy will be a better place once you're done."_

_Turning her gaze to their child, Shepard frowned slightly and asked, "Liara, are you sure that you want me to-"_

_But Liara quickly cut her off, saying, "We've talked about this a thousand times, Shepard. You should go to your meeting with the council tomorrow. If the baby does come tomorrow, Garrus and Tali will make sure I get to the hospital and they will call you. Waiting around the house with me for something that may or may not happen is a waste of time. You need to convince the council of your plan while they're still fragmented. I believe in your vision."_

_Sighing, Shepard shrugged. "I know, I know. I just feel so guilty not being here when you need me. I know Garrus and Tali will take care of you, but that's my job. I don't like giving it to someone else to do."_

_Resting her head on Shepard's shoulder, Liara said, "I know, my love. But I know you'll be there when she's born."_

_Pressing her cheek against the top of Liara's head, Shepard concentrated her attention on her hand resting over her wife's belly. Like most of the times she thought about their daughter her stomach knotted in anxiety, excitement, and uncertainty. The idea of parenthood, wondering if she was ready for something so life changing, scared her half to death, but she also felt eager to lay eyes on their baby girl. After so long she would have a family once again__ -__ something she had not realized until recently she wanted so desperately._

"... lead this new endeavor?" The asari councilor's voice suddenly pierced Shepard's thoughts, bringing her abruptly back to the present. The commander wanted to kick herself for letting her concentration slip like that. She had no idea what the councilor had asked, and she knew that she couldn't give them the impression that she didn't care enough about this not to pay attention. Shooting a glance at Miranda, Shepard lightly tapped her forefinger on the table, a signal to her friend that she needed help.

Without a moment's pause the dark haired woman put in, "I would nominate the commander herself for such a task. I think we could all rest easy knowing that the Savoir of the Galaxy was leading this united military in its early years. I don't think any of us can argue against the fact that Shepard has proven her commitment to galactic stability."

Shepard had to restrain herself from flashing an appreciative smile at her friend - it would look too much like they had conspired on that answer if she did - but she was grateful that Miranda had slipped the relevant information into her response. Tevos must have asked who would lead the military.

The turian immediately shot back, "So a human would be in charge of the most powerful military in the galaxy? That hardly seems equal."

The krogan surprised everyone by speaking for the first time during the meeting. His voice was a low rumble that carried a sharp edge of sarcasm. "It's only equal when the right race is in charge, right, turian?"

The two councilors locked eyes, each daring the other to say the wrong thing. The krogan looked almost hopeful. The electricity in the air was nearly palpable.

Luckily, the geth cut in as planned. "The geth have concluded that it would be logical for Shepard Commander to lead. We would entrust forces to her leadership."

The councilors besides the krogan, turian, and Miranda all shifted uncomfortably. Though the geth's words had been innocuous enough, the threat still hung in the air. It appeared as if the geth had pledged forces to Commander Shepard and whoever wasn't a part of that alliance was by default an enemy. No one wanted to be on the opposite side of _that_ army.

Keeping her voice cool and collected, Shepard said, "As I said before, there would be a cabinet of admirals that would lead the army. I would like to see this vision through all the way and would not decline the opportunity to help shape something I believe is so important. But I would by no means have full control over the military. My goal is to integrate this army and ensure that it functions in the correct way."

"While we are discussing leadership, Commander," Miranda said right on cue, "I have to wonder how you intend to prevent nationalists from disrupting the unity of this military."

The dark haired woman already knew the answer, but they wanted to give the appearance that Miranda was still considering whether to support Shepard. Folding her hands on the table, Shepard said, "We will have a screening process to make sure that soldiers are joining for the purpose of maintaining galactic stability. Then close monitoring on new recruits to watch for any radicals that might try to disrupt cooperation between races. Intolerance will be strictly prohibited. Everyone will need to work together, just like in any military."

Silence engulfed the table as all the councilors studied Shepard with carefully guarded expressions. Sometimes they looked at one another, wondering what the others thought. Shepard hoped that the newer races would jump at the chance to be included in a collective military and the old council would support her simply because they feared becoming a target if all the other races joined Shepard. It pained her somewhat to use their distrust and suspicion of one another to create something that aimed to unite them. The irony nearly made her want to laugh bitterly.

"If there are no more questions at this time, we will take a thirty minute break and then reconvene for any final questions for the commander," Tevos announced. When no one objected she stood and the salarian and turian followed her out of the room. The other councilors watched them warily, but one by one stood and filed out of the room. Eventually only Shepard remained with Miranda and the geth representative. She wondered if the councilors were discussing the proposal with one another, trying to gauge where everyone else stood.

Miranda calmly pushed back her chair and came over to Shepard, who rose to greet her. As they shook hands, Miranda said, "I think that went well, Shepard."

Smiling, Shepard answered, "Thanks for saving my ass. I got distracted for a minute and almost ruined the whole thing."

Shrugging, her friend said, "It's understandable. How is Liara, by the way? When we last talked, you sounded a little concerned about the timing of this meeting."

The geth had also stood and came to stand by them, watching the exchange quietly.

"She's alright, I think," Shepard said. "She's due soon. Today or tomorrow the doctors said." She raised her right arm and immediately turned on her omni-tool. "I need to check my messages to make sure everything is still fine."

Before she could even access her messages though, the geth put in, "You have received no new messages Shepard Commander."

The fact that the geth monitored just about every communication on the Citadel no longer surprised Shepard. She just nodded and said, "Thanks. Hopefully it'll stay that way and we can focus on getting this done." Looking at the door she added, "We should probably separate and go out into the hall so that we don't look like we're plotting. You two should see if you can get a sense of where anyone else is at."

Both nodded and the three left the room at different times. Shepard knew the councilors were unlikely to just tell her where they stood, so she decided to grab a drink of water. On her way, however, she was stopped by the krogan councilor. He walked up to her with the typical krogan self-confidence and stared down at her with his vibrant green eyes. "You spoke well, Commander."

If Shepard wasn't so familiar with krogans and so comfortable with them, she might have been surprised by his kind words. But she knew that krogans valued strength, and building an army was something they could appreciate.

"Thank you, Councilor," she said. "Do you think you will support the proposal?" Krogans also appreciated directness.

The krogan tossed his head as if he thought the answer was obvious. "I've been ordered by the Clan Leader to support you. You have been a good ally to the krogans, Shepard. The Clan Leader trusts you and so do I."

That did surprise Shepard. She had not talked about the proposal at any length with Wrex, and she was surprised he had decided to seal his people's support. It was certainly a relief to know she had the krogans on her side though.

"How is Urdnot Wrex?" she asked. "I am curious to hear how the krogans are doing."

The krogan's lips curled in what might have been a smile. He was surprisingly well tempered for a krogan - probably the reason he had been chosen to represent them in a diplomatic setting. "You can ask him yourself when you see him."

Blinking, Shepard replied, "He's here? Why? He didn't tell me he was coming."

The green eyed krogan shrugged in response. "His official reason is to ensure that I don't start a war with the other races my first week on the council. But I'm not stupid enough to believe that the Clan Leader would waste his time watching me. He is probably here to see you. For what reason, you probably know better."

Could Wrex have come because her daughter was about to be born? Had he come to see her child? She would need to call him and ask. As if that thought was a trigger, her omni-tool beeped to signal an incoming call. Glancing at the name displayed on the screen, she saw it was Tali and her heart nearly leapt into her throat.

"Ah! I'm sorry, Councilor, but I need to take this call. Perhaps we could talk some other time..." Her voice trailed off as she made an abrupt turn and walked away, simultaneously selecting to accept the call. Tali's helmeted face leapt onto the screen, though she was looking at something over her shoulder. "What's going on Tali?" Shepard asked anxiously.

Realizing that Shepard was on the other end of the line, Tali whipped back around, her body language clearly excited and nervous at the same time. "Oh! Shepard! We're on our way to the hospital. Liara is having the baby!"

Shepard could hear muffled sounds in the background, but nothing loud enough to make out clearly. Her instincts screamed at her that Liara needed her and her feet itched to just sprint down the hall and keep running until she reached the hospital. It took considerable self control to remain calm and cool headed. Rash decisions led to disaster.

"I'll meet you there, Tali," she said, her words only a little hurried. "Take care of Liara for me." Without waiting, she ended the call and sprinted down the hallway to where Miranda stood chatting with the quarian and elcor councilors. Grabbing her friend by the arm and pulling her aside without a care for what the other two thought, she whispered, "Liara is having the baby! I have to get to the hospital!"

Eyes widening, Miranda replied, "What? Now?!"

Lowering her voice even further so that no one could overhear, she said, "The krogan councilor is on our side. I need you to take over, Miranda. You know how important this is to me, but I have to be there for Liara. Please, I'm counting on you."

Jaw tight and determined, Miranda gave a sharp nod. "I understand, Shepard." As Shepard turned to go, Miranda laid a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "I'll win and then come see your daughter."

Smiling in return, Shepard nodded and then took off running down the hall. She didn't care what the councilors thought, though with any luck they would just assume it was urgent and worth Shepard's time. There were certain advantages to having a reputation for handling the impossible. She didn't even bother to take the elevator down from the Citadel Tower, she practically leapt down the stairs instead. When she reached the plaza below, she spotted a group of reporters all gathered by the elevator and directly blocking her path to the transportation terminal. Shepard had never been rough with a reporter before - and the light knew that some had deserved it - because she knew better than to show them anything other than her most professional face. Even so, the thought of shoving them all out of the way certainly came to mind now.

But Shepard was no fool. She knew that if the media saw her in a hurry, saw her as anything other than a calm professional, they would follow her to the hospital and possibly ruin everything. She couldn't let that happen. She couldn't lead them right to Liara and her daughter.

With carefully practiced composure and an air of professionalism, Shepard strode out into the plaza. The reporters jumped into action when they saw her, immediately swarming her and asking questions about her meeting with the council. They didn't know about the proposal, but they knew that she had been summoned by the new council. "I'm afraid that information is classified," she said over and over. When pressed where she was going, she claimed to be going to do paper work for an assignment from the council. That was a boring enough notion to make the reporters instantly drop that line of questioning. There were the other typical questions about her feelings on current issues or even about her relationship with Liara, but she deflected those as best she could. They continued to hound her with questions as she stood at the terminal and summoned a taxi. She continued to exercise her patience while answering their questions, until the taxi finally arrived and she was able to shut them out.

Knowing that they would immediately try to hack the terminal to see where she had actually gone, she set the destination for her apartment on the Citadel. Hopefully the reporters would see that she was not going anywhere special and would lose interest in her. She waited until she was well out of sight to change the destination to the hospital. Glancing at the time on her omni-tool and trying not to fret over how much time she had already lost due to the media, Shepard tapped her foot impatiently as she willed the taxi to move faster. Liara must already be there by now.

When the taxi finally pulled up to its destination Shepard quickly swiped her credit chit and leapt out of the door before the vehicle had even stopped. She hit the ground running, dodging the pedestrians in her way, and skidding to a stop once she was inside the front door. Her head whipped around as she blinked rapidly, her eyes adjusting from the brightness outside to the sudden darkness inside.

"Shepard!" Tali's voice called from somewhere to her left and she headed towards the voice before her eyes had even completely focused. Tali stood by a row of chairs in the waiting room, wringing her hands nervously, but she was not alone. Ashley stood with her, dressed in her Alliance uniform, with Joker fiddling with his cap beside her, and Wrex looming over all three.

Violet eyes shifting from one to the next, Shepard said, "You all came?"

Shrugging, Ashley answered, "Isn't that what friends do?"

Joker grinned and added, "I mostly just wanted to watch you struggle trying to figure out how to deal with a kid."

Wrex just gave a small nod.

She smiled at each of them, but her lips turned down into a frown when she realized that someone was obviously missing. "Where's Garrus?" she asked. "Wasn't he with you and Liara, Tali?"

"Ah, right," Tali answered. "He's with Liara actually. They thought he was the father and kind of dragged him along before he could correct them. I'm sure he's hoping you'll come rescue him soon."

Shepard couldn't help chuckling at the idea of Garrus flustered and trying to figure out how he was supposed to respond to the situation. The idea was less funny when she realized that her friends probably laughed when they thought about her in the same condition. Still, she felt slightly better knowing that Garrus was with Liara for now. There was no one else she could trust more.

"I should probably go rescue him, then," she said, trying to sound at ease, but unsure if she succeeded.

Breaking away from the group and heading towards the receptionists' desk, Ashley said, "Allow me, Skipper." Then raising her voice she called out, "Hey, I have a momma here who needs to see her baby! Who is gonna help us out?" Ash continued her jovial tirade until a nurse agreed to show Shepard to the right room if Ashley would stop shouting in the lobby. Saying goodbye to her friends, Shepard followed after the slender asari, all the while trying to regulate her breathing and quell her nervousness. The nurse seemed too distracted to recognize her and didn't say even two words to her as they walked down the white halls. Shepard considered it a blessing since that was one less person who might notify the press. She certainly didn't try to draw any attention to herself as she passed others in the corridor, just stared down at her feet with her hands shoved into her pockets.

"This is the room," the asari said suddenly. She didn't wait for a reply before heading off without so much as a backward glance at Shepard. Staring at the closed door, Shepard wondered whether she was supposed to knock before entering, or just waltz on in and explain that Liara was her wife. She raised a fist to rap on the door, but then decided that her knock might not be heard, and opened the door instead. As she slipped into the room she felt like she had entered into the pandemonium of a battlefield. A doctor and three nurses were gathered around the bed where Liara seemed extremely distraught. Sweat poured down her face and her face was twisted up in pain. Standing by her side, Garrus grasped one of her hands in his talons, but he looked just as panicked and everything about his body language screamed that he wanted to be elsewhere. The room filled with shouting, some from Liara, and some from the doctor and nurses.

A nurse immediately rushed towards Shepard, trying to shoo her away as the commander simultaneously tried to explain who she was. Garrus turned at the same moment and exclaimed, "Shepard!"

At her name, Liara sought her out and a look of relief blossomed on her face. Pushing past the nurse, Shepard rushed over to her wife's side, taking the hand that Garrus had been holding, kissing the back of her blue hand and saying, "I'm here, Liara. I'm here."

After Shepard flashed a smile of gratitude at Garrus, the turian inclined his head and made his hasty retreat from the room. Noticing that Shepard's presence had calmed Liara down, the nurse decided not to press the issue and went back to the doctor's side. Looking down into Liara's sapphire blue eyes, Shepard saw weariness and fear, but also the love she always found there too. Childbirth had become much simpler and less painful over the years thanks to medical advances, but it was still no walk in the park. And seeing Liara in any state of distress was enough to wrench Shepard's heart in two.

Holding Liara's gaze and letting her love shine through her and into a smile, Shepard squeezed Liara's hand while she whispered comforting things. Sometimes her words were as simple as saying how much she loved Liara and sometimes she talked about their daughter, about their hopes for their little girl. And the whole time she remained by her wife's side, refusing to let go of her hand and doing her best to protect the woman she loved.

~.~.~.~.~

Later, the pair sat on the hospital bed, staring down at the bundle in Liara's arms. The asari looked exhausted, yet still radiant, alternating her looks between the child and the human at her side. Shepard's arm was wrapped around Liara's shoulders protectively and she occasionally kissed her wife's temple affectionately. Except for the child they were the only people in the room at the moment. Their first time together as a family.

"I can hardly believe she has your eyes," Liara whispered, her expression a mixture of awe and satisfaction. It truly was remarkable, given the complexities of asari reproduction that their child would have eyes so similar to Shepard's. The babe stared up at her parents with violet eyes perhaps a shade or two darker than the human's, and she neither cried nor seemed upset by her surroundings. She stared back at the world with an intense curiosity and fearless courage.

Brushing the child's cheek lightly with the pad of her thumb, Shepard was careful to speak in equally hushed tones. "I'm thrilled she has your freckles, Liara."

Resting her head against Shepard's shoulder, Liara let out a content hum. "I suppose we should think of a name."

Letting the babe wrap her tiny fist around her finger, Shepard said, "I've thought about it some, and since the Reaper War was such an important part of our lives... I thought it might be appropriate to name her for someone we lost along the way."

Tilting her head to look Shepard in the eye, Liara gave a quizzical expression. Shepard could almost see the list of names flashing through her wife's brain, and she wondered if the person she meant was even on that list. She hesitated to say the name because of the sudden fear that it might hurt Liara to hear.

Clearing her throat and switching her gaze to the babe instead, Shepard said, "It's traditional for humans to name their children after family members. I think our little girl would be proud to be named after her grandmother." Then addressing the child she added, "Isn't that right, Benezia?"

Shepard felt her wife's shock before she even saw it on her face. Liara's eyes were wide and her bottom lip quivered, though Shepard couldn't quite read the emotions present in her eyes. It was a while before Liara focused on Shepard again and sputtered, "Are you sure about this, Shepard? You only knew Benezia as an enemy and even I was estranged from her for some time."

Smiling warmly, Shepard said, "And I wish I had had the chance to know her as your mother, Liara. And I know you didn't always see eye to eye with her, but she was your mother, and she did love you. And I know you loved her. Her last true act was to help us stop Saren. She helped us win. She helped us survive."

"Oh, Shepard," Liara whispered, raising a hand to wipe away the water welling up in her eyes. "Thank you. I never realized how much it would mean to me, but for some reason it makes me really happy to honor my mother this way. I know you are doing this for me. I cannot tell you how much this means to me."

Cupping Liara's face with her free hand, Shepard answered, "No tears. We have so much to be thankful for today. I want to see you happy more than anything else."

Placing a chaste kiss on her wife's lips, Liara said, "I am happy, Shepard. I am unbelievably happy."

~.~.~.~.~

Emerging into the lobby with Benezia cradled in her arms, held protectively against her chest, Shepard sought out her friends, who sat huddled together where she had seen them last. Miranda had also arrived and added herself to the group. Tali spotted her first and rose excitedly to her feet, triggering the others to scramble out of their chairs as well. The quarian was at her side the second she reached them, tugging at Shepard's shoulder eagerly.

"Oh, Shepard! She's so cute!" Tali exclaimed.

The commander had been fearful that Benezia might be frightened by so many strange faces all peering at her, but she just stared at them all wide-eyed. Her gaze lingered on each of them in turn and she almost looked as if she were studying them; a thought that nearly made Shepard chuckle because it reminded her of Liara.

"Liara's alright?" Garrus asked.

Smiling, Shepard answered, "Yup. She's exhausted though. Sleeping now. The nurses said it was ok for me to bring Benezia out here for a little while."

"Benezia?" Ashley asked, surprised. "You named her for Liara's mother?"

"It seemed the right thing to do. She won't have one grandmother because of me. I think we can at least honor her memory."

Nodding her understanding as she stepped forward, Ashley reached out a hand to stroke the little asari's head. She smiled warmly and Benezia just stared at her with those piercing violet eyes. "Well, I think she's going to find that she was born into an interesting family. Of course, she'll have the benefit of her favorite Aunt Ashley."

"What?" Tali shot back. "It's her Auntie Tali that she'll be wanting to visit all the time!"

Miranda didn't enter into the playful argument, but she did smirk and Shepard knew by the look on her face that she was planning how she could achieve the title of favorite aunt for herself.

Joker cast a grin at Garrus and said, "So, are we supposed to fight over who gets to be the favorite uncle?"

Sharing a conspiratorial glance with Shepard, Garrus answered, "If Shepard is smart, she won't let you around her kid. You'd turn Benezia into a wise-cracking delinquent."

"Ouch," Joker laughed, laying a hand over his heart as if wounded. "Touché, turian. Touché."

Practically bouncing with anticipation, Tali asked, "Can I hold her, Shepard?"

"Sure," Shepard answered, carefully placing Benezia into Tali's arms.

"Whoa! I call next turn then!" Ashley said.

As Ashley, Garrus, and Joker gathered around Tali, Shepard sidled over to Wrex and Miranda. From someone inexperienced with dealing with krogans, it might have seemed as if Wrex was completely uninterested in the situation, but Shepard knew by the way he looked from Benezia and back to her that he was quite happy for her. Looking up at the krogan, Shepard said, "I wanted to thank you for your help, Wrex. With the proposal that I put before the council, I mean. Your ambassador told me that you supported me."

Shrugging, Wrex answered, "You're my friend, Shepard. Part of my krant. Besides, I know how hard it is to unite a bunch of idiots too stupid to see it's for their own good. And let's face it, you're not as good at bringing people together as I am." He gave that crooked sort of krogan grin and Shepard laughed loudly.

"Good thing you're looking out for me then," she said mirthfully.

He glanced again towards the mob around Benezia and nodded his head approvingly. "She looks strong, Shepard. Fearless. And probably cunning too. A dangerous combination. You should be proud."

Grinning from ear to ear, Shepard genuinely appreciated the compliment. For a krogan to say that they thought someone was or would be dangerous was a great sign of respect. Any strength the child displayed was also a positive reflection on the parents. "Thanks, Wrex," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. Then turning her attention to Miranda she made her face serious and asked, "How did the meeting go?"

Miranda answered smoothly, obviously expecting the question. "The council wasn't pleased that you had to leave, but they didn't press me when I told them that it was an emergency of the utmost importance. They knew better than to question any mission that you deemed important. The krogan ambassador revealed that he fully supported your proposal." She shot a quick glance at Wrex before continuing. "Then the geth used that opportunity to reinforce geth support and that certainly scared the others enough to make them hesitant about opposing. The possibility of a geth, krogan, and human alliance was a nice touch. While they were worrying over that, I also reinforced to the less... privileged members of the council that this was an opportunity for them to be equals. I think I managed to convince the volus, hanar, and quarian. The elcor was hard to read, and he didn't say much unfortunately. But I think the old council also thought they were in the minority and hopefully that will be enough to convince them to jump on board as well."

Sighing in relief, Shepard let herself relax a little. It sounded as if the meeting had gone as well as she could hope. All that was left to do was wait for the council's decision. If she didn't succeed there... well, she could think of something else. She always did. Her family's well-being depended on it.

"Thanks for all your help," she told her friends. "I really appreciate it."

She spent a few more minutes chatting with her companions and letting them hold her daughter before she needed to take Benezia back. Bidding her friends goodbye for the night, Shepard carried Benezia back to Liara's hospital room and sat by the bed, the baby's head cradled in the crook of her arm. Liara was still asleep and Benezia looked ready to nod off as well. For the first time that day Shepard acknowledged that she felt weary too. It had been a long day, but a happy one.

As her daughter's eyelids began to droop, Shepard smiled down and began to recite: "Ah, could I lay me down in this long grass and close my eyes, and let the quiet wind blow over me - I am so tired, so tired of passing pleasant places..."

**~.~.~.~.~**

**Long chapter, eh? Wanna guess what the final total was? 14 pages. 14 freaking pages. That's like a small research paper. Though this brings me to an announcement I'd like to make. I've been asked a good bit when future chapters can be expected and how frequently I update; and I certainly understand the frustration of wondering if an author has abandoned a story or not (especially since I seem to only follow authors who don't update haha). I hope that I have been consistent enough in updating that none of my readers fear me leaving a story unfinished, but I still sympathize. Therefore, I plan to use my profile as a place to update my progress on the story. So, if you find yourself itching to know how long you have to wait, taking a look at my profile will hopefully give you a better idea.**

**As for this chapter, I have to admit that my time in Japan has made me even more fervent about the idea of an all-inclusive council and united military. Ursula K. Le Guin once said "Science fiction is not predictive. It's descriptive." And it is true. I would love to see a more united world. Forming friendships across the globe leads to empathy, and for every country I have a friend in, I feel more passionate about America's relationship with that country. I would love to see a world where everyone had friends spread across the globe. I think people would be hesitant to mistreat or fight their friends. We would understand each other so much better.**

**My diatribe aside, I hope you liked this chapter. I wanted to steer as far as possible away from making it campy or sappy, but not ignore the meaningfulness. Hopefully I succeeded. Feel free to let me know. Wish you all the best.**

**~N.Q. Wilder**

**EDIT: Major edits made to this chapter. In addition to fixing formatting issues, removed Legion in light of events of ME3. Replaced him with a geth representative.**


	4. Family Life

**I'll be the first to say it: "Oh my god, N.Q. Wilder, you updated! I thought you were dead! What gives?" Long story short, I am not dead. I've just been hard pressed for time due to an abundance of trial work. My sincerest apologies for the delay, but hopefully it was worth it. Anyway, a few quick words about this chapter. We are jumping ahead 10 years to see how things have changed after the Reaper War. I'm actually cutting this part of the story in half though. Don't worry, this chapter is quite lengthy to reward you for your patience, but I wanted to go ahead and post at least part of this story. Good news is: I should have substantially less trial work to do until March, so I hope to put up the other half of the story within that time.**

**Anyway, thanks for your patience and sticking with this story despite the wait. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.**

_Ten years later..._

"Commander, the council has forwarded their approval on proposals 45, 48, and 53. I just need your signature and then I will forward authorization to HQ." The young, slim drell held out a datapad to the black haired human and offered a stylus in the other hand. Her teal skin seemed vibrant against her black service uniform and big, dark eyes stared unblinking at the commander.

Taking the pad and stylus, the human flashed an appreciative smile at her ensign officer before scribbling her name quickly and handing it back. In her black dress uniform with silver relief, multitude of medals, officer's hat, and stars of rank, the woman looked suitably impressive after her visit with the council. Then again, the woman tended to look impressive even in her casual fatigues just by the virtue of being who she was. Admiral-Commander Shepard filled a room with awe by reputation alone.

Ensign Lasha took the pad with a nod of her head, stacking it atop the other datapads in her arms. She stood at the Admiral-Commander's shoulder - Shepard had invented the new title so that she could still be addressed as Commander Shepard instead of Admiral; a bit of sentimentality on her part - as the human sat at her desk in her quarters. Lasha glanced around the room curiously, although she had been there often due to her duties as Shepard's information officer. Yet, like many of the soldiers that had the privilege to work directly under the Admiral-Commander and aboard the Normandy, the young officer was often struck by the fact that she was serving aboard a piece of history.

Meanwhile, Shepard finished transferring the last of her reports to a separate datapad to give to her information officer. After this latest trip to the Citadel to meet with the councilors and attend to other military business, Shepard was keen to complete her duties and arrive back at the United Galactic Military base. Though five days was not a terribly long time, she hated being away from her family for even that long. It was probably just paranoia left over from her former Alliance days when being shipped out meant being gone for months at a time; even now she sometimes had to leave on extended patrols that lasted several weeks. Regardless of the amount of time spent away though, coming home was always a pleasure.

As she handed the datapad over to Ensign Lasha, Shepard's gaze lingered on the photograph of her, Liara, and Benezia that sat on her desk. It had been taken when Benezia was six, during an outing with family friends. In the picture Benezia sat on Shepard's shoulders, blue arms outstretched like the wings of a ship, violet eyes wide with excitement while she laughed. Shepard was running towards the camera, keeping her daughter secure on her shoulders and smiling while Liara chased after them, hands formed like a gun and pretending to shoot after them. As with every time she looked at the photo, the memory brought a smile to the commander's lips.

Leaning back in her chair while the ensign rearranged the stack in her hands and prepared to leave, Shepard asked, "Do you have any plans for your next few days off, Lasha?"

If the ensign was surprised by Shepard's informality, she didn't show it. The commander was certainly known for being relaxed with her crew whenever serving aboard the Normandy. She might be a stickler for the rules and protocol at the base, but on her own ship she preferred a close sense of community.

"Ah, well, some of the crew is going to hit the clubs during the break and I think I'll go with them." The drell's voice was higher than that of all the male drell Shepard had ever known, but still possessed a deep quality, and like the other drell she knew, Lasha was also fairly direct. At the same time she had a talent for being discreet and respectful in addition to her impeccable memory. Shepard thought Lasha would rise high in the ranks someday.

Chuckling, Shepard said, "Yes, I should have suspected as much. It's amazing that sometimes I forget precisely how I used to spend all my shore leaves when I was younger. Well, I suppose something needs to remind me of my age, huh?"

Despite being in her early forties, Shepard looked much like she did during the War of the Reapers. The cybernetics and other modifications that Cerberus had made to her body while rebuilding her resulted in slowed aging. Her hair was still completely black, her skin tight, body strong; the only real indication of her age was that her violet eyes held a quality that said she had seen things other people could only imagine, lived through so much. Her lack of aging was simultaneously a relief because it meant she would have more time to spend with her wife and daughter, but also alarming when it reminded her preciously how much of her humanity she had lost during the war. Something she never liked to be reminded of, yet she tried to ease that pain by joking about it from time to time.

Smiling in response, Lasha ventured quietly, "Um, if I may ask, Commander, do you have plans as well?"

Pointing to the picture on her desk with a grin, Shepard nodded and said, "It's my daughter's birthday tomorrow. She's at that age where she wants to have a big party with all her friends from school, and I can hardly say no to her on anything; and then we're also having some of our old friends come for a smaller party later. Maybe not as exciting as the clubs, but at least I won't have to deal with the post shore-leave hangover," she added with a warm smile.

Lasha nodded her agreement with a chuckle before slipping back into formality in order to excuse herself and finish her duties. After checking on the ETA, Shepard decided to grab her duffel bag and head down to the bridge where she found Joker at his usual station, piloting the Normandy. Like always, it had been a simple matter to convince Joker to help her build the United Galactic Military. He simply went wherever Shepard and the Normandy went - the crew understood that the ship was a much his as the Admiral-Commander's at this point.

Laying a hand on his shoulder, Shepard said, "I heard a rumor that you forced half of the crew to get drunk on the Citadel and then made them report for duty the next morning."

Glancing up at her quickly before turning his attention back to the monitors, Joker just shrugged. He was a few years younger than Shepard, but without the same cybernetics he looked older than her. He still wore his beard and signature cap, but his hair was starting to show flecks of gray. However, even if he was getting older, his spirit remained as young as always. His penchant for pranks and gossip certainly had not faded over time. "It wasn't half, more like just the youngest ones. It was for their own good. I wanted to teach them how to deal with having to work while still hung-over. A skill we all learned at some point or another, right, Shepard?"

Shaking her head, she answered, "Well, I guess I should be grateful you taught something sort of useful when you were bored rather than blast porn over the intercom like you did last time."

He gave one of his roguish grins before quipping back, "I've told you that you shouldn't bring me to the Citadel with you. I hate just sitting in the docking bay while you rub elbows with the politicians."

Shepard couldn't help rolling her eyes at that. "I _would_ leave you behind, but you won't let anyone else pilot the Normandy. How do you suggest I get to the Citadel without my ship, Joker?"

Holding up his hands as if fending off an attack, he answered, "Look, I'm not saying it's practical. I'm just saying you shouldn't bring me. You'll just have to deal with the results of my boredom."

"Jeff currently has one hundred and twenty seven pranks planned for future visits to the citadel, Commander." EDI put in from the co-pilot seat, spouting her facts in the same calm voice she always used.

Joker leaned over as if to swat her, though he couldn't reach her from that far away. "Shut up, EDI! You aren't supposed to tell Shepard that! I can't tell you anything!"

Shepard just shook her head with a small laugh. Some things never changed. As the Normandy made its approach to the Galactic Military base on Bekenstein, Shepard spent the remainder of her time signing off on forms and making sure her crew was prepared to depart for shore leave. When forming the Galactic Military, Shepard decided to base it on Bekenstein because the planet was the closest habitable planet to the Citadel, and it proved a comfortable place to live. Since it was a prime green-house planet, it felt like home to many of the species that flocked to the planet because of the military's presence. Although Bekenstein had started as a human colony, it was now a multi-racial civilization, second only in diversity to the Citadel. The resultant boom in the urban sector and the economy centered on the military base led to the creation of suburban areas, a safe and peaceful place for Shepard and Liara to raise their daughter.

At the docking bay, Shepard saw her crew off from the portside door, wishing them all a fun shore leave. Traditionally, the captain of the ship would be the last to leave, but Joker usually took that privilege for himself, and Shepard didn't mind giving it to him, but she always remained till second to last. Slinging her duffel bag over her shoulder and waving goodbye to him, she said, "I'll see you tomorrow, right, Joker? EDI?"

"Yeah, yeah," he answered distractedly as he scrutinized the post-flight statistics. "We'll both be there."

Saying goodbye to them, Shepard stepped down the ramp and out onto the docking area. As she reached the end of the extended ramp and passed through the security checkpoints, receiving salutes from the personnel stationed there, she entered the civilian approved area of the port.

No sooner had she stepped foot into the civilian area when she heard a child's voice call out, "Momma! Momma! Momma!"

Smiling broadly, Shepard let her duffel bag fall from her shoulder and turned towards the sound of feet striking the walkway rapidly, spreading her arms in time to catch the little asari that leapt towards her. Small, blue arms encircled her neck tightly, legs wrapped around her torso as the little girl buried her face against the side of the Commander's neck. Clutching her daughter equally as tight, Shepard said, "Benny! I missed you, baby girl!"

Peering over her daughter's shoulder, Shepard saw Liara tagging behind at a walk after Benny had no doubt ripped away from her. Dressed in her lab coat and casual suit, Liara must have picked Benny up from school right after work and come to greet the commander. After retiring from being the Shadow Broker, Liara had taken up her prothean studies again, leading the department at the University of Bekenstein. She had a warm smile adorning her lovely face, and for a second Shepard felt like some lucky person in a romantic vid. Benny still pressed against the commander as if afraid she would turn around and get back on the ship any second, and Liara wrapped her arms around both of them so that Benny was between them while she kissed her wife. It bordered between chaste and passionate, lasting maybe a moment longer than it should have considering they were at Shepard's work, yet short enough to leave Shepard longing for more. But she knew that she would have time to spend with Liara alone later, and she was content to be with her family at the moment.

Leaning back far enough to look into Shepard's eyes, Benny said, "I'm gonna be ten soon, Momma." She had been saying that for the past week or so, to anyone who would listen, before Shepard even left for the Citadel. She said it with such earnestness as if worried that if she didn't remind everyone then they would forget.

Looking into those piercing violet eyes, so much like her own, and those freckles that reminded her of Liara, Shepard had to suppress the urge to hug her daughter tightly and never let go. So often she was conflicted by her desire to have Benny stay a child forever and her desire to see who her daughter would grow up to be. "I know, Benny," she said mirthfully. "I wouldn't ever forget."

Her daughter just smiled and her curiosity immediately took her to other thoughts as she reached up and took Shepard's officer's cap from her head and placed in on her own head. It was a little big for her and she had to keep pushing it up from in front of her eyes. "Can I wear your hat, Momma?"

Chuckling while she set her daughter back down and then snapping a crisp salute, Shepard said, "Of course, Admiral."

"I'll be the admiral and you can be Uncle Garrus," Benny informed her excitedly. Then turning to Liara and tugging her hand eagerly she added, "And you can be Uncle Joker, Mommy, because you drive the ship."

Liara and Shepard shared amused glances and Liara even murmured, "Why do _I_ have to be Joker?" But Benny was already urging them to follow her out to the car, marching ahead proudly with the officer's hat continuously sliding down over her eyes.

Quickly grabbing her duffel bag Shepard followed behind with Liara at her side, fingers interlaced with her wife's hand. Leaning over to kiss Liara on the cheek, Shepard pulled back with mock surprise. "Joker, you shaved your beard!" she said with as straight a face as she could manage.

Liara rolled her eyes and nudged Shepard with her elbow. "Keep it up, Garrus, and you'll be calibrating alone tonight."

Shepard laughed and wondered what her friends would say if they ever heard about this. Benny often used the names of family friends when playing, assigning their roles to stuffed animals and any other playmate she could find. Sometimes it concerned Shepard that her and Liara's past life seemed to influence Benny so much, but she was usually consoled by the fact that she and Liara's names never came up in Benny's play. She didn't want their daughter to feel pressured to be like them, or try to assume their roles. She wanted Benny to choose her own path in life.

When they got to the car Benny immediately hopped into the backseat and Shepard took the passenger seat. She knew from past experience that Liara would never let her drive when their daughter was in the car - a safety precaution she called it. Unfortunately, Shepard could hardly disagree given her track record. Benny chatted happily about school and her friends, filling Shepard in on all that she had missed while on her trip to the Citadel. Like most children, Benny could talk practically non-stop when she had a captive audience, yet she also possessed the ability to enjoy solitude; a trait probably picked up from Liara. Like Shepard, Benny could be bold and her teachers often remarked that she was a leader amongst her peers, yet Benny was also content to play alone and pursue her own interests without guidance from her parents.

Sure enough, when they got home Benny happily rushed inside the house and went to go play with her toys. Coming in through the kitchen door, that left Liara and Shepard alone for a moment, and Shepard quickly grabbed her wife and pulled her close. Leaning against the counter, arms wrapped around Liara's waist, Shepard kissed her passionately. Heat flooded her face and her pulse quickened with desire, and she wanted nothing more than to feel every inch of Liara pressed against her. Everything about Liara, the taste, the smell, the feel, was intoxicating: a fire in her heart that could never quite be quelled and often burned out of control. Pulling away reluctantly before she lost her senses, Shepard whispered, "God, I've missed you."

Liara just grinned coyly and grabbed the collar of Shepard's dress uniform, pulling her back forcefully into another kiss that almost caused Shepard to melt on her feet. It was only with a sigh that they pulled apart again, foreheads touching and bodies as close as they could possibly be. Neither said anything for a while, content in the moment, until finally Liara sighed and said, "I hate to bring this up when you have just gotten home, but today I had a talk with Benny's teacher."

Shepard had always been known for being protective - of her crew, of Liara, of everyone - but when it came to Benny she was almost overbearing; completely devoted to her daughter's safety and well-being. News about Benny was enough to jar her out of her blissful reverie and she pulled away slightly, frowning. "Why? Is everything ok? Is Benny in trouble? Is she ok?"

Liara stroked Shepard's arm comfortingly, knowing how worked up the commander could get about Benny. "It isn't anything dire, but Benny got in trouble for using some inappropriate language during class. When I picked up Benny after school, her teacher told me that she had used language that was not appropriate for children during class. I figured that I would wait until you were home to talk to her about it."

"Do you know what she said?"

"No. Her teacher just said that it was inappropriate. I thought we could discuss it with her today."

Shepard's face set in that distinctly strict, military parent expression that she donned whenever it came to disciplining Benny. Pulling away from Liara and standing straight-backed and rigid, Shepard called out, "Benezia Shepard T'soni, front and center!" They had decided long ago to use T'soni as Benezia's last name since the last name Shepard would be too conspicuous. Their ultimate goal was always to shelter Benny from the attention of the media and anyone who might pressure her to follow her parent's footsteps.

A second later Benny came running into the kitchen, though immediately slowed once she reached her parents. She knew that hearing her full name never meant anything good, and she cautiously came to stand right before Shepard, standing up tall with her arms clasped behind her back like a soldier. Her violet eyes never wavered from Shepard's stern gaze, but she couldn't hide her worry.

"I heard you got in trouble today for using bad language, Benezia. Is this true?"

While the little asari's lip trembled slightly, her voice came out strong and even. "Yes, Ma'am."

"And what did you say?"

Her violet eyes darted from Shepard's face, to Liara's, and then to the floor before returning back to Shepard. "Miss Nala gave us a book to read over the weekend and I was mad because my birthday is this weekend and... and I said that it was a real kick to the quad."

Hearing the distinctly krogan phrase come out of Benny's ten year old mouth was so shocking and amusing at the same time that Shepard almost burst out laughing. She had to hide her smile behind a hand and couldn't help dropping her firm, military demeanor. Liara also seemed shocked, though less amused, and shot Shepard an accusatory glance. When the human caught the glance she held up her hands defensively. "Hey," she protested, "don't give me that look. She didn't learn it from me! You know I never use that kind of language around, Benny."

"It sounds like something you would say, Shepard," Liara replied, sounding unconvinced by Shepard's argument. "Or if not from you, then from Wrex. I know he's trying to turn her into a krogan."

Shepard had to admit that Wrex was a likely culprit, but she also felt sure that he knew better than to use that kind of language around a child. Still... sometimes things slipped. Shepard hadn't seen him in a while though.

Benny seemed much more relieved now that Shepard's sternness had faded and she eagerly piped up, "I learned it from Grandma."

At that Shepard couldn't hold it in any longer and let out a laugh. Liara went from dropped jaw to annoyed at Shepard for laughing in a matter of seconds. Liara's mother, Matriach Aethyta, was half krogan and much coarser than the average asari. Shepard liked her a lot as an in-law, but she was not the typical kindly grandmother type. Wiping a tear from her eye, Shepard replied, "I should have known it was your mother, Liara. She puts Wrex and me to shame with the curses she knows."

Rolling her eyes and putting her hands on her hips, Liara answered, "Yes, well, I will have to speak with her about watching her language around children. I'm glad you could find this so funny, Shepard."

Trying to hide her grin, Shepard said, "Sorry, sorry." Taking a deep breath and setting her face into a more serious expression, she turned back to Benny, though her voice had lost its hard edge. "Benezia, I never want to hear you say that again, ok? In fact, don't repeat a lot of what Grandma says."

Benny smiled with relief, no doubt glad that Shepard was no longer angry and that she was going to get off with a warning. She nodded and said, "Yes, Ma'am."

Shepard let Benny run off to go play again before turning back to Liara with a shake of her head and a smile. "That was... unexpected," she said.

Liara returned a flat stare that read "I am not amused" before a similar smile spread across her face. Raising a hand to her forehead and throwing her head back in mild exasperation she answered, "What am I going to do about that woman, Shepard? I want her to be a part of Benny's life, but she has absolutely no experience with children! You know, once when I went over to her house to pick up Benny, I found them watching an extremely violent vid together. And I swear, when I asked her about it she had no idea why I was upset."

Wrapping her arms around Liara's waist again while the asari draped her arms across Shepard's shoulders, the commander replied, "I wouldn't worry about it too much. Having a foul-mouthed, mischievous grandmother is probably a lot like having two older brothers. It just adds a little bit of spice to a childhood. I used to get into all kinds of trouble with my brothers and look how I turned out."

Raising an eyebrow in mock skepticism, Liara replied, "You want our daughter to turn into a reckless, gun-slinging soldier who constantly risks her life while befriending the most dangerous people in the galaxy?"

Shepard pulled Liara in closer so that she could kiss the side of her neck affectionately. Humming against Liara's cheek, she replied, "I see your point. Well, maybe she'll find a beautiful archaeologist to balance her out then."

~.~.~.~.~

"Alright, Benny, time for bed. You've got a long day tomorrow," Shepard called to her daughter in the play room. Probably on account of her birthday party being the next day, Benny didn't argue for more time and promptly ran past Shepard to the bathroom to brush her teeth. The commander waited for her daughter in Benny's bedroom, seated on the edge of the bed. Benny's room was littered with drawings on the walls, a good number depicting their family or family friends. She saw pictures of her former teammates and of the Normandy. There were also several pictures of their family, with Benny in the center and Liara and herself holding hands with her on either side. Shepard studied the familiar caricatures of her friends with an amused grin until Benny entered the room. Her daughter immediately went to her dresser to change into her pajamas.

"Do you want to read part of a book together?" Shepard asked. Since her own mother had been a literature teacher, Shepard had grown up around books and around words. She loved reading, loved the magic of literature. She remembered reading with her mother when she was a child, every night a sacred ritual that not only expanded her mind but made her feel closer to her mother. She'd been reading to Benny long before her daughter could even understand the words. Subsequently, reading together had become an important part of their relationship.

Slipping her pajama top over her head, Benny said, "I want to listen to poetry."

Another thing Shepard intended to pass on to her daughter was her love of poetry, which she had developed from her mother as well. Often Shepard would fill downtime with poetry - if they were waiting at the doctor's office, driving in the car, or just walking around a store - she would start reciting the words she loved so deeply in hopes that Benny would come to love the words too. And over time it seemed that she had succeeded. Not only did Benezia seem to have a superior grasp on literature for her age, but she often asked Shepard to recite poetry.

Folding her arms over her chest, Shepard said, "Oh really? Any poem in particular?"

"The Fire Fetched Down!" Benny replied instantly. It was the second largest poem Shepard knew from heart and one of the most dramatic. She was sure Benny liked the drama of the poem as much as she liked the sound of it. She certainly doubted that her daughter understood the poem entirely - few adults would have been able to.

Rubbing her chin in thought, Shepard pretended to heavily consider the suggestion. "That's an awfully long poem," she said at last. "And I'm tired from my trip. I don't know if I have the energy to recall the _whole_ thing."

Benny came scuttling over to Shepard with her best puppy-dog eyes, grabbing her mother's hands with her own little, blue ones. "Please, Momma! It's my favorite. Please!"

Looking into those violet eyes, a mirror of her own eyes, and that freckled face that looked so much like Liara's, Shepard almost felt overwhelmed by the love in her heart. She knew that nothing could ever compare to how much she cared about Benny and Liara. Sometimes she felt speechless by how blessed she was. "How about a trade?" Shepard said. "You recite a poem for me and I'll do that one for you?" Now that Benny had taken to liking poetry, Shepard was trying to get her daughter in the habit of memorizing poems so that she could carry them with her wherever she went. Not only to carry the words with her, but to carry a piece of Shepard with her forever.

Nodding gleefully, Benny said, "Ok! I'll do a happy one!" Jumping back and posing with her arms outspread wide, as if standing center-stage for an adoring audience, Benny began, "I will be the gladdest thing under the sun! I will touch a hundred flowers and not pick one."

Shepard recognized the poem immediately, "Afternoon on a Hill" by Edna St. Vincent Millay - Benny's personal favorite poet. Not a bad choice. It was easy enough for a ten year old to remember and not as dark as the poems Shepard tended to favor.

Shielding her eyes with a hand as if she were peering at a glaring sun, Benny continued, "I will look at cliffs and clouds with quiet eyes, watch the wind bow down the grass, and the grass rise." Raising her arm in a triumphant gesture and finishing by bringing down her fist in an ecstatic motion, she declared, "And when the lights begin to show up from the town, I will mark which must be mine, and then start down!"

Clapping appreciatively, Shepard said, "That was excellent, Benny! You didn't miss a single word and you performed it so well." Rising, she scooped her daughter up in her arms and placed the child in the bed, leaning down to kiss her on the forehead. As she tucked her in, Shepard added, "And remember that those words are true, Benny. You have to pick out the lights you want for yourself, what is important to you, and then go get them. If you work hard, you can get what you want."

Beaming at the praise, Benny said, "Now you do 'The Fire Fetched Down.' And don't forget to do the scary part!"

Grinning, Shepard backed up so that Benny could see her from where the child was snuggled in the bed, and began her recitation. "When they knew what he had given them, this florid colossus with the sunrise in his eyes and skin the color of perfectly ripened fruit..."

~.~.~.~.~

Plopping down on the couch next to Liara, who sat reading a datapad probably containing research from her work, Shepard sighed softly. Draping her arms over the back of the couch and leaning her head back, she enjoyed the feel of being off her feet for a minute. Liara put the datapad on the coffee table and snuggled up close to Shepard, resting her head on her wife's shoulder.

"Did you get her to sleep?" she asked.

"Yup, though it took a while. She almost made me go through my entire repertoire. I was afraid I would run out of poems for a minute there."

Chuckling, Liara said, "You know she loves hearing you read or recite to her. I do it while you are away, but I can tell she prefers it when you do it. It is something that will always be for just you and her in her mind."

Shepard didn't say that it was good that Benny would always have that memory of her even after she was gone. Shepard didn't say that she tried so hard to leave those impressions on their daughter so that Benny wouldn't ever forget her. And Shepard didn't say that she hoped leaving those pieces of herself with their daughter would prevent Benny from feeling betrayed that Shepard wouldn't be there for most of her life. She didn't say these things because she didn't have to. They both knew, but some things were better communicated in silence.

Instead, Shepard said, "She's so smart, Liara. Sometimes I don't think there's any way she could possibly understand one of the poems I say to her, and she surprises me by showing a complete understanding. She's so much like you. So smart and such a quick learner."

Pressing even closer to the commander, face snuggled against the side of her neck, Liara whispered, "I think she is more like you. An artist at heart."

Shepard let out a scoff at that. "I'm not an artist, Liara. I'm a soldier. All I've ever really been good at is fighting."

"That is not true," Liara insisted. "Didn't you tell me before that many poets have been soldiers? Also you love to cook, to create. Do you remember, one of the first things you said to me was that you appreciated people with passion? Well, you have a lot of passion, Shepard. And artists are people with passion."

Wrapping her arms around Liara, Shepard said, "If I remember correctly, in that same conversation your translator gave you a different definition of passion. A kind I reserve just for you."

Lifting her chin to look up at Shepard, Liara answered, "And if I remember what you said, that kind of passion is not bad either."

Smiling down at her wife, Shepard ducked her head to press her lips against Liara's. The asari eagerly returned the kiss and as it grew more heated she shifted her position so that she straddled Shepard's lap. The commander's hands wandered across Liara's lower back, the electricity of the contact sparking at her fingertips and running up her arms. For a while they matched one another for intensity, a dance of soft caresses and playful nips at lower lips.

Yet, Shepard knew every inch of Liara's body and her hands artfully moved along her spine, lighting up ever nerve ending there. Similarly, Liara knew every inch of Shepard's body, and when she pressed her lips against the side of Shepard's neck, just under the base of her jaw, the commander gave an involuntary shudder and her fingers fumbled in her ministrations, instead digging into Liara's back. Laughing at having gotten the better of Shepard, Liara pressed her advantage and it was all Shepard could do just to wrap her arms around Liara's waist and fight to keep her senses. Her heart beat so fast that it felt as if it might burst out of her chest and the hair on the back of her neck stood at end.

Feeling that she would go mad with desire if this went on much longer, Shepard rocked forward onto her feet, pulling Liara up with her. Her arms scooped under Liara to hold her up off the ground, while Liara's arms draped around Shepard's shoulder and her legs wrapped around her waist. She giggled as Shepard carried her to the bedroom, before capturing the human's lips again passionately. Once they reached the bedroom, clothes were quickly discarded and their bodies intertwined. And in their moment of bliss they lay wrapped in each other's arms. A melding of their bodies, minds, and souls.


	5. Family Life Part II

**Greetings! I finally got around to completing this chapter. I worked on it in little pieces whenever I could because I could never find the time to just sit down and write for any length of time. So, if it feels a little disjointed in places, I apologize. I really wanted to address what people have been doing since the Reaper War in this chapter, so basically I was trying to get through as many cameos as I could. Is it just me, or are these chapters getting longer? This one is over 5,000 words... geez.**

**Two things I need to address real quick. First, I know that in ME3 Tali and Garrus are together, and Kal'Reeger is dead. Well, I'm bringing Kal back to life because, let's be honest, killing him off in an email was a cop out. And I'm not pairing Tali and Garrus. Normally I hate going against canon, but since this story's existence is apparently out of canon anyway... Hell, you can imagine that they were together and things didn't work out if you want. Point is, don't expect them to be together in this story.**

**The other thing is concerning ME3. Obviously, I was deeply upset by the ending of the game. I doubted for a while that I would even bother continuing Shepard's story. But Shepard deserved better, and I plan to give it to her. So, yes, I will continue the main trilogy. Yet, don't expect it too soon. A lot of planning and time went into "All Things Pass" and "Sub Specie Aeternitatis." I plan to give the final part just as much time and consideration. I will dabble with "After" while I gather my notes for the other piece though. As always, when I have news to share I will update my profile information.**

**Ok, and I just realized that I lied. I have a third thing to talk about. I actually want to ask for suggestions on the next chapter. Some people expressed disappointment of not seeing scenes from within the 10 year jump. I could do a collection of short scenes spanning those 10 years all placed into one chapter, or I could just skip ahead again. Would people rather have a collection of short scenes (like a bunch of snapshots) or just the next long chapter? Suggestions would be welcome.**

**As always, my door is open for comments, criticisms, etc. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.**

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Scrunching her face up at the noise of the alarm clock, Shepard felt as if the annoying sound was drilling itself right between her eyes. Groaning softly, she rolled to the right, unwrapping her arm from around Liara, and hit the alarm. Once blessed silence reigned again, she regathered Liara in her arms, pressing her cheek against her wife's shoulder. Taking a deep breath, savoring the scent of Liara, the warmth of their bodies pressed close, Shepard enjoyed a few more minutes of lying in bed before beginning her chaotic day. Liara shifted slightly, snuggling closer to the commander and drifting back to sleep again. After a moment, Shepard kissed Liara's shoulder blade, let out a reluctant sigh, and stealthily slipped out of bed, padding quietly to the bathroom.

After showering and getting dressed, a pair of long black pants and a nondescript purple shirt, Shepard went to the kitchen to start breakfast. Benny came into the kitchen not long after; her presence at such an early hour might have been surprising if it weren't her birthday. She still wore her pajamas, Blasto night pants and one of Shepard's old shirts that was too big for her.

Sliding two chocolate chip pancakes onto a plate and looking over her shoulder, Shepard said, "Ah! There's my birthday girl." Bringing over the plate and setting it in front of her daughter at the table she added, "I'll get you some butter and syrup."

Benny smiled down at the pancake that smiled back up at her with a face made of chocolate chips. As Benny ate happily, Liara joined them in the kitchen as well, grabbing her usual cup of tea before joining their daughter at the table. After making sure her family was fed, Shepard sent Benny off to get ready for the party and turned her attention to the preparations for the rest of the day. She was responsible for the food at the party, including the birthday cake - of which there needed to be two: a regular one for the majority of the guests and a dexro-amino one for the handful of turian classmates in Benny's class. Because of the diversity of Bekenstein, Benny's class held a variety of students: asari, human, turian, volus, and even an elcor. These races all had similar enough standards of development to allow a mixed class. Shepard had even been told that having a human parent meant that Benny would adapt to develop at a rate similar to a human child; the asari had the widest range of adaptability when it came to speed of learning. However, other species were absent from the mixed class for special reasons. Salarians, for example, required a hyper advanced level of education that moved at a pace other species could not mimic. Quarians, having just regained their home world, were still in the process of rebuilding and readapting, and thus children stayed on the home world. And krogan had their own special brand of education.

In addition to handling the food for the party, Shepard also had to do prep work for later that evening when family friends would be coming for a smaller party. Her crew had been just as diverse as Benny's class and preparing a full meal for so many different species was certainly a challenge. Yet, Shepard loved to cook and took pride in feeding her family and friends.

The party itself, however, was hell. At least, it was for Shepard and Liara who had to keep up with fifteen children, all of various races. Fights broke out every now and again, shouting matches followed by a few shoves and name calling, but those were quickly quelled with a stern look and a reprimand to behave. Worse for Shepard were the parents. Some dropped their children off, but others stayed to keep an eye on their kids. As Shepard was bringing a tray of snacks out and setting them on a table, two mothers, a turian and asari, and a father, human, approached her to compliment her on the effort put into the party. However, the second she turned towards them, tucking a loose strand of black hair behind her ear, she heard them all gasp.

"You're - you're her!" the human man stammered.

"Commander Shepard!" the asari added.

She wanted to groan. People recognizing her had been her main reservation about allowing such a large party. The school Benny went to had been more than gracious, helping keep her and Benny's identities secret from reporters and even other parents. They never allowed the media on school grounds and made sure not to draw attention to the fact that Benny was Shepard child. The most the other parents knew about Benny was that she had an asari surname, but that the other parent was a human. But it was no secret that Commander Shepard lived on Bekenstein and commanded the United Galactic Military, and one look at her face was all it took for them to instantly recognize her.

Putting on the smile of the gracious hostess, Shepard said, "Thank you for coming to our party. I'm Benny's mother." As if she couldn't see their awe-struck faces she held out her hand to the parent nearest her, the turian mother. They were hesitant of course, insisting on pointing out who she was and stammering thanks, but Shepard deftly redirected the conversation away every time. By the time they parted ways, she hoped that she had managed to make them forget her fame. Shepard was no stranger to the scrutiny of the media, of having people's attention constantly on her, but she didn't want that for her daughter. As long as people were too busy gawking at her to pay Benny any mind, Shepard would consider that a victory.

By the time all the guests had left, the backyard looked like a battlefield, food scattered everywhere, wrapping paper tumbling in the wind, and toys flung every which way. Shepard forced Benny to take a nap before their other guests arrived, though her daughter protested, preferring to play with her presents. But Shepard stood her ground and Benny reluctantly went to her room to nap. Meanwhile, Shepard and Liara tidied up the backyard and made the house presentable.

Flopping down onto the couch in the living room with a sigh, Shepard said, "Days like this make me feel old. Remind me: why did we agree to throw such a big party?"

Coming over to the couch, Liara sat down and laid her head in Shepard's lap. Looking up at the human with sapphire blue eyes, she said, "Because you can never say no to Benny when she really wants something."

"Ah, right," Shepard agreed, a yawn cracking her jaw. "Well, I hope you don't judge me too harshly; she is my only daughter, after all."

Liara's eyelids closed slowly and she seemed only half there as she murmured, "Excuses." A faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips. Shepard couldn't help a similar feeling of weariness, and she decided that it wouldn't be a bad idea to rest her eyes as well, just for a minute. She felt immensely relieved as she sank into the couch cushions and let her body unwind. _I'll rest for five minutes and then get up and finish getting ready for our guests_, she vowed to herself. Five minutes was all she needed to collect herself.

~.~.~.~.~

Shepard awoke to the sound of the doorbell echoing throughout the house. In an instant her eyes were open, her body tensed for an attack, and her right hand going for her gun holster. Yet, almost within that same second her thoughts recognized the interior of her home, the feel of Liara's head resting in her lap, her own back pressed into the couch cushions. Benny sat on the floor in front of them, playing with her new toys quietly. She lifted her head at the sound of the bell and was on her feet in an instant.

"I'll get it!" she exclaimed, racing for the front door.

Blinking in confusion, Shepard let out a slow breath and willed her heart to slow its frantic pace. Liara shifted, raising a hand to her furrowed brow as if soothing a headache. Shepard stroked Liara's head gently while her thoughts rearranged themselves in her brain.

From behind the couch she heard Benny open the front door and let out a squeal of delight. "Aunt Tali!"

As Liara rose to a sit, Shepard got to her feet and turned to see her old friend in the doorway, Benny wrapped tightly around the quarian's waist.

"Happy birthday, Benny!" Tali said, her arms seeming to completely envelop the child's shoulders. When Shepard approached, Tali's masked face tilted up and she said, "Shepard! You look tired."

Grinning, she answered, "Years of intense military training never prepared me for a children's birthday party."

"I suppose it didn't," Tali said with a laugh.

It was then, as Tali and Benny's embrace ended and the quarian straightened, that Shepard noticed the small qurian in a blue environmental suit hiding behind Tali and peering into the house shyly. He clutched a small present to his chest protectively. Smiling broadly and kneeling down to be more on height with the child, Shepard said, "Rael, is that you? You've gotten so big! Do you remember me?"

The last time she had seen Tali's son was on the quarian homeworld of Rannoch. He had been only four at the time, and she had seen him outside of his environmental suit. Liara and Benny had not been on that visit with her.

His eyes glowed behind his blue visor as he timidly nodded his head. "You're my Aunt Shepard. Mommy's sister."

Shepard's heart nearly melted at that. Her real family might be gone, but she had gained an assortment of brothers and sisters in her friends. Putting a hand on Benny's shoulder, Shepard said, "That's right, and this is your cousin, Benny. She's only two years older than you."

Tali urged Rael to step out from behind her and stand a little closer to the little asari. The children stared at each other like two strange animals evaluating each other. Then Rael held out the present, offering it to Benny shyly. Smiling, she accepted the present with one hand and grabbed Rael's hand with the other, tugging at him to follow her.

"Come on, Rael," she said happily. "We can play with my new toys!" She led him over to where she had left her toys in the living room, passing Liara as she came to join the other adults. Tali greeted Liara and the three of them chatted while the children played, until Joker arrived with EDI in tow. When Benny saw him, she rushed over to the pilot and practically leapt into his arms. After several treatments and surgeries, his bones could withstand much more force and he no longer walked with a limp. He would never be able to push himself physically, but his day to day life was much easier. Benny stole his cap, laughing, and ran, calling for Rael to run with her. The two children darted from the room, forcing Joker to chase after them, with EDI's help, if he wanted his hat back. Liara agreed to help them as well, leaving Tali and Shepard by the door.

"Kal couldn't come?" Shepard asked.

Tali shook her head. "No, he was needed back home. It took a bit of fighting on my part to be able to sneak away for this. I'm glad I could bring Rael though. It's about time he and Benny met."

Shepard was about to agree when she was forced to answer a knock at the door. At the sight of Garrus, Tali nearly knocked him over in her rush to hug him. The turian looked similar to how he did during the war. As far as Shepard could tell, turians didn't show much signs of outward aging. He wore his United Galactic Military uniform, all black and silver relief, making an impressive figure; Shepard had forgotten that he was not on shore leave as she was, and must have come over as soon as he was off-duty. As one of her admirals, Garrus worked long days, as tirelessly diligent as he had always been. He was a good leader and more importantly, someone she could trust without a doubt.

Tali released him from her crushing embrace and promptly hit him on the shoulder. Garrus blinked in surprise and asked, "What was that for?"

"For not coming to visit me on Rannoch," she answered with a slight edge to her voice. "After all we've been through, I would think you could peel yourself away from work long enough to visit!"

Mandibles twitching, Garrus looked down at the floor guiltily. "Ah, sorry," he apologized. "Shepard keeps me pretty busy running her military."

"Whoa, whoa," Shepard said, throwing up her hands and backing away. "Don't drag me into this, Garrus."

Giving his best innocent expression, Garrus changed the topic by holding up a long box that he carried with him. "This is for Benny. Should I give it to her now? It's a model of a turian cruiser."

"You're welcome to give it to her now, if you can catch her," Shepard replied with a chuckle. "I think half of the house is trying to catch her and Rael. She will be thrilled to see you though."

Tali laughed too and added, "I can already tell your daughter is going to get my son into so much trouble, Shepard."

Shepard grinned slyly and shook her head. "What can I say? She takes after Liara in that way."

Tali offered to help Garrus find the kids while Shepard spotted another guest heading up the walkway to the house. She recognized her mother-in-law immediately and waited patiently at the door to greet her. In the wake of the Reaper War, finding Liara's other parent again had been easier said than done. After they had met for the first time on the Citadel, there was still a lot left unsaid in Aethyta and Liara's relationship. And when the Citadel was repurposed to use against the Reapers, Aethyta had disappeared from the radar.

Shepard and Liara had already been married a few months when Feron sent them word that he had found Matriarch Aethyta. Liara, obviously, had been conflicted about tracking her down ̶ unsure what else she could say to the woman who had never been a part of her life. Unsure whether she even wanted her in her life. But Shepard had urged her to at least meet with Aethyta again. She knew what Liara never said: that she wanted to know her other parent.

Aethyta, too, had seemed reluctant to reconnect. She obviously knew little about being a parent and likely didn't want to start so late in life. Shepard remembered sitting at a cafe together, holding Liara's hand as they sat across from the matriarch and told her about their wedding, about their plans for the future. And when they told Aethyta that Liara was pregnant, that she would have a grandchild someday, the older woman's eyes suddenly filled with tears.

"Krogan don't cry," she had said, ashamed and wiping away the tears.

"You're only half krogan," Liara reminded her gently, reaching across the table to lay her hand on top of her parent's.

Aethyta was quiet for a while before saying, "Will I get to meet her? Can I hold my grandchild?" That was when Shepard and Liara told Aethyta that they wanted her in Benny's life. Since then, Shepard knew that there was no one else in the galaxy who Aethyta loved more than her granddaughter. She had even moved to Bekenstein in order to be close to them.

"Commander," the old asari greeted as she climbed the front steps to the door. She carried a large, wrapped parcel in both hands. It must have been nearly three feet long and over a foot wide. Aethyta spoiling Benny with expensive gifts was nothing new, however.

"Aethyta," Shepard said back with a smile. "It's good to see you."

"Likewise." She walked into the house and peered around. "Where's the birthday girl?"

"Running her aunts and uncles ragged, I imagine." Just as Shepard answered, Liara appeared around the corner and spotted them standing in the doorway.

"Mother," she said, eyes narrowing at Aethyta.

Shepard heard the asari mutter under her breath, "How many times have I asked her to call me Father?"

Crooking a finger, Liara gestured for her mother to follow her. "We need to have a talk," she said in a stern voice.

Frowning, Aethyta glanced at Shepard and whispered, "I did something wrong again, didn't I?"

No doubt Liara planned to chastise Aethyta for teaching Benny inappropriate phrases. Shrugging with an apologetic smile, Shepard answered, "I'm afraid so."

Aethyta muttered something about overprotective parents, but followed after her daughter anyway. Shepard returned to the party, catching up with her friends and starting dinner at the same time. After accidently falling asleep, she would have to work hard to serve the food on time.

After a while, the rest of the guests arrived. First Ashley, with two of her three sons in tow. The oldest was nine and the other eight. Benny knew them both already, and their play quickly turned into rough housing. All four children ran around the backyard, tackling one another and climbing trees. Ashley had remained in the Alliance, as Shepard knew she would, but had been raised to the rank of rear admiral. Her family and Shepard's had managed to stay close over the years, and their children really were like cousins.

And finally, the krogans arrived. Shepard grinned from ear to ear as she greeted Wrex.

"You look well, Shepard," he said with a nod. Then gesturing behind him he added, "I brought your whelp with me."

Grunt growled softly at being called a whelp, but had enough sense not to talk back. His head plate had started to fuse together so that his crest looked more like Wrex's, but his blue eyes were still distinct for a krogan. Wrex had once joked that Shepard was basically Grunt's mother, since he didn't have a real birth mother. "You took him on his first hunt, you taught him how to be a krogan, you brought him to his home world - you're the boy's mother and father, Shepard!" he had said.

At the time she had laughed at the joke, unaware of how true those words were. It wasn't until she had almost lost Grunt in the Reaper War that she realized how much she thought of the young krogan as hers. Coming out of the Rachni lair, thinking that he was dying because of her decision, all she had been able to say was, "They're killing my boy. I let them kill my son." When he emerged from the cave covered in blood, but alive, she had nearly wept from joy.

When she greeted him, she lightly touched her forehead to his, as intimate a gesture for the krogan as a kiss on the cheek. Grunt cast a look around to make sure no one had seen the expression of sentimentality, and assured that no one was watching, he smiled at Shepard.

Other old friends couldn't attend for various reasons. As the human councilor, Miranda had a hard time getting away from the Citadel. Jack was still with Grissom Academy and doing well, from what Shepard had heard and seen, but she seldom left her students. Besides, Liara was not fond of having the foul-mouthed convict anywhere near their daughter. Kasumi had fallen off the map, reappearing only once or twice over the last ten years. Samara, similarly, had disappeared in fulfillment of her oath and had little interest in leaving asari space. Chakwas was currently on assignment and couldn't make it to the party, but the doctor still visited from time to time. James had opted to join the Galactic Military with Shepard and Garrus, but he was currently on assignment out in the Traverse. The rest of the people Shepard had served with were either dead like Mordin and Thane, or had gradually drifted away with time.

The friends gathered in her house were like family though. And it made Shepard incredibly happy to know that her daughter would grow up within such a colorful and trustworthy family.

After dinner, everyone sat down to watch Benny open her presents. She squealed in delight over the turian cruiser from Garrus and the kids all fought over a virtual game from Tali. When it came to Aethyta, Benny's eyes widened at the size of the box and she eagerly unwrapped the gift. Shepard sat nearby with Liara in her lap, both smiling at their daughter's excitement. The kids all gathered around eagerly, urging Benny to unwrap faster.

Yet, the second the paper had been torn away, several of the adults gasped.

The reason the package had been so large was because inside was a shotgun ̶ a Scimitar, but obviously custom made because the steel plating was a pale blue rather than the typical white. Shepard was familiar enough with the gun to know that it was one of the lighter models and capable of rapid fire. She also knew it was deadly at close range.

"By the Goddess!" Liara exclaimed. "What were you thinking, Mother?" She jumped to her feet immediately and stared down Aethyta. Shepard also rose and quickly snatched the gun up before Benny could take it in her hands.

Aethyta looked genuinely shocked at their reaction. "It's a krogan tradition to give a child their first gun when they turn ten," she explained. "My father gave me my first shotgun when I was ten. I thought it would be a nice family tradition."

Shepard heard Wrex let out a growl. "If I had known I could get the girl a gun, I would have brought one of my own. If anyone is giving her her first gun, it should be me or Shepard. The honor falls first to parents and then to the clan leader. Secondary relatives have a lesser claim." Grunt nodded in agreement.

Shepard let out a frustrated sigh. "No one is giving Benny a gun, Wrex. You know I respect krogan traditions, but she's too young."

"Fighting is in her blood," Aethyta pointed out, stubbornly.

Turning on the older asari, Shepard's stare cast a dire warning. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Benny perk up at Aethyta's words, listening intently. Benny knew who Shepard and Liara were, what they had done, but only in the barest terms. Shepard didn't want to fill her daughter's head with tales of fighting and adventures, making her think of war as some romantic game she could play. She certainly didn't want Benny to think she was _destined_ to play such a game. If she chose to be a solider or something like that, it would be of her own free will; not because she felt pressured to follow in Shepard and Liara's footsteps.

Liara saw the dangerous look in Shepard's eyes and quickly intervened. "Mother, we need to have another talk about appropriate grandparent behavior," she said, motioning for Aethyta to follow her out of the room.

The matriarch grumbled while getting to her feet. "Talk, talk, talk. She's too much like Nezzy." But she followed anyway, if a bit reluctantly.

Once they were gone, Shepard gave Ashley a pleading look. Catching on, Ashley cleared her throat and pushed a large, square present box towards Benny. "This is from me and the boys. It's equipment for a traditional Earth sport. We'll teach you how to play. The boys love it!"

With the help of her friends, Shepard distracted Benny from the gun incident, and soon it seemed as if her daughter had forgotten about the gift that had been taken away from her. Ashley showed all the children how to play baseball, and soon Benny and the boys were completely engrossed in the game. While they played, the adults sat around catching up until it was time for everyone to leave. EDI and Joker left first, saying that they would see Shepard at the base on Monday morning. Then Ashley gathered her boys, though Benny protested loudly, and said her goodbyes. Tali also gathered up Rael to leave, but Benny begged for them to stay, saying that Rael could have a sleepover with her. Shepard offered her friend the guest room, and once Rael joined sides with Benny, Tali eventually consented.

When Wrex and Grunt left, Shepard walked them to the door saying, "I appreciate you guys not bringing guns for Benny, even though it is a krogan tradition. We just don't want to push Benny down that path."

Wrex's red eyes stayed on her even as he tossed his head with a snort. "Everyone must make the decision to fight or not to fight in their own time. For krogan, we decide much sooner than other species."

"When did you decide to fight, Shepard?" Grunt asked.

An image of Mindoir, of her hometown burning, leapt to the forefront of her mind. "Sixteen," she answered quietly. "But humans aren't considered adults until eighteen."

"Speaking of being an adult," Wrex said suddenly, "I wanted to ask: when do you want Benny to perform the Rite?"

Taken aback, Shepard stared at him wide-eyed. "The krogan Rite of Passage?"

"What else?"

"Benny isn't a krogan, Wrex!"

He gave her a level look. "I said during the war that if you cured the genophage, I would make you a full-fledged krogan, Shepard. I kept that promise. Besides, you keep saying that I'm supposed to be her damn uncle or something. No one of my blood will be clanless."

Gaping at him in disbelief, she said, "I never even completed the Rite, Wrex! I don't have a clan! And the other krogan won't like this at all!"

Wrex's voice rumbled in his chest, a noise that passed for amusement amongst krogan. "I think curing the genophage and summoning the mother of thresher maws to take down a Reaper is more than enough to complete the Rite. And the krogan respect and thank you for that Shepard. I accepted you into my clan a long time ago. All of Tuchunka knows that you are Urdnot Shepard. Any krogan would gladly welcome your daughter into their clan."

Grunt nodded his agreement. "We respect strength. They accepted me because I was strong. They accepted you because you were strong too."

As if that settled it, Wrex went on, "There's no rush to prepare her for the Rite, yet. But it won't hurt to pick out her krant. I got a good look at your friends' pups today, but I don't know if they will do. Quarians make better engineers than fighters, but those human boys might grow up strong. We shouldn't rely on them just yet though. Grunt will join Benny's krant, of course."

Again, Grunt nodded. "You helped me with my Rite, Shepard. I will make sure Benny makes it through too."

Blinking, Shepard was at a loss for words. They sounded dead-set on turning Benny krogan. Accepting an outsider into their clan would be no small gesture either. And Shepard couldn't deny that she liked thinking that she was a krogan now too.

She caught sight of Liara walking towards the door with Aethyta. Knowing her wife would not like overhearing about plans to pit their daughter against a thresher maw, especially after the issue with the gun earlier, Shepard urged the two krogans out the door. "Let's not mention this in front of Liara just yet," she pleaded. "We can talk about it when Benny gets older."

Grunting, but saying no more on the topic, Wrex and Grunt said their goodbyes and left. Shepard turned back around just as Aethyta and Liara reached the door. The older asari looked more than a little annoyed, but she cleared her throat and said, "I wanted to apologize for bringing a gun for Benny, Shepard. Liara told me how you both want her to go her own way." She glanced at Liara, a warm smile spreading across her lips. "And I guess I can understand that. But mark my words, that girl is a fighter. She's got too much of the both of you in her to be anything else."

"Thanks, Aethyta," Shepard replied. "I know you meant well. You should hold onto the gun. Maybe she will want it when she's older."

Nodding, Aethyta said, "I'll do that."

After all the guests had left, Shepard, Liara, and Tali helped the kids build a fort out of blankets and pillows in Benny's room so that they could camp out on the floor. Once they were done, the adults stood in the doorway, watching Benny and Rael dart in and out of the fort with toys in their hands. Standing behind Liara, Shepard wrapped her arms around her wife's waist and rested her head on her shoulder.

Tali leaned against the side of the door, and though Shepard couldn't see her friend's face behind her helmet, she thought that the quarian was smiling. "They've become friends so fast," Tali mused quietly.

"They have," Liara agreed. "It is like they have known each other all their lives."

After a moment of silence, Tali's voice became more serious and she added, "I know what it's like to be worried that who you are will be bad for Benny." She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "Sometimes I get so worried that I will be just like my father and get too caught up being a good admiral and let my son down. I know I'm not like him, but... I can already see people looking at Rael as if they are expecting him to do something great any second. I don't know if he feels pressure or anything, but he's going to notice eventually. And if he doesn't become the leader everyone expects..."

"He'll feel like he doesn't measure up," Shepard finished grimly.

"Exactly."

Frowning, Shepard said, "It's hard knowing that she's one extranet search away from finding out everything about who Liara and I really are. It's hard knowing that she's one careless mistake away from being dogged by the media. It's hard knowing that no matter how much we tell her that we want her to do whatever she wants, she's going to know that the rest of the galaxy expects her to take up our mantle. And the hardest thing is knowing that I can't protect her from that." Reflexively, Shepard hugged Liara a little tighter. The asari responded by laying her hands over Shepard's arms and leaning into the embrace.

"It will be hard," Liara agreed. Shepard knew that she was probably thinking of her own mother and how so many people expected her to follow Benezia. "But they have each other," she added, inclining her head towards the children, who had settled down inside the fort to giggle over a comic book together. "They have each other, just like we all had each other. Together we got through the darkest of times." She smiled warmly, her sapphire eyes sparking with hope. "Together they will find their way."


	6. Glimpses in Time

**So much for my idea of doing a collection of short vignettes. Each scene ended up going longer than I expected and I covered things I hadn't planned to cover. For those of you who were disappointed that I skipped over the marriage and conception of their kid, well, you can thank Karmen Sandiego for convincing me to reconsider. I only did a small piece from the marriage scene, but both were especially challenging for me since they are pretty far out of my comfort zone. But I learned a lot about just forcing yourself to put material down on the page. Anyway, the lesson we should all take away from this is **_**not**_** that N.Q. Wilder does requests (unless someone wants to start paying me haha), but if you have a suggestion then feel free to pitch it. Even things that I purposefully avoided before, I might reconsider given enough time.**

**In this chapter we're backing up 11 years and taking glimpses at some small moments in-between that time and the last chapter. I also randomly came up with an idea for a fun little side story at Grissom Academy that I plan to continue in the next chapter. Hopefully I won't struggle as much with that as I did with this.**

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.**

**Glimpses in Time**

_11 years earlier..._

The wedding would be a small affair. No press, no entourage, no extensive families. All they had was each other and the friends that had seen them through the darkest years the galaxy had ever seen. They had everything that they wanted.

Shepard straightened her officer's uniform for the twentieth time that day, tugging at imagined creases and her fingers nervously aligning the medals pinned to her left breast. All the while she stared at the dozen statues that stared right back, though four in particular drew her attention more than the others. The statues belonged to the Reaper War memorial located in London where the final battle had taken place. The city looked good considering it had faced near annihilation. Already half of the city had been rebuilt and several memorials put up to honor those who had made the ultimate sacrifice in the fight against the Reapers. This memorial was the most important, however, and stood in the center of the city, where the battle had been at its worst.

Not only did the location hold significance for Shepard, but the statues bore the mark of her influence as well. The twelve statues represented each race that had helped in the battle against the Reapers, ranging from the major players like humans and turians all the way to geth and elcor. Even batarians were represented, after Shepard had insisted on it - a surprise to everyone, including the commander.

She had ended up having a large say in the artwork after officials had contacted her, asking to use her image for the representation of humanity. She had declined that offer obviously, but suggested an alternative: Admiral David Anderson. Looking at his likeness now, wrought in metal so that he stood with hand frozen in a salute and looking off into the distance as if looking towards the future, Shepard had to admit that they had done a good job.

Taking in a deep breath and smiling, Shepard snapped a crisp salute back at him, whispering, "Thank you, Sir. For everything."

Then she let her eyes wander to three other statues that stood side by side in similar poses. Approaching them, she placed a hand on two of their shoulders, but let her gaze sweep over all three. Looking into the faces of Mordin, Legion, and Thane, she wondered if there was an afterlife and if they knew that they had won. She wondered if they knew their sacrifices had saved the galaxy. She hoped so. She hoped they had finally found their peace.

"I can't believe you had control over this memorial and you didn't suggest using me as the turian model."

Shepard turned to see Garrus walking towards her from the back of the room, walking down the aisle created between a handful of chairs set up for the ceremony. He was dressed in traditional turian formal wear, the nicest Shepard had ever seen him wear, all dark greens, blues, and purples. Although Shepard wasn't entirely sure of turian beauty standards, she thought that he made a handsome figure.

When he reached her, he added, "All you had to say was, 'I know this turian that gave half his face fighting the Reapers. I real nice guy. You should make a statue of him.'"

Shepard laughed. "Would you really have wanted them to make a statue of you when you're still alive, Garrus?"

He thought about it for a moment, then said, "I suppose not. Too many people would come up to me and say 'Haven't I seen you somewhere before?'"

Shepard rolled her eyes. "You're right. That'd be the worst part of having a statue of yourself out there."

Garrus' eyes swept over the statues, lingering briefly on the familiar faces, before he focused his attention on Shepard again. "Are you ready for this?"

Shrugging, she said, "Surprisingly, I think so. I'm not as nervous as I thought I'd be."

"This is a big step though."

"It is," she agreed. "But I already gave Liara my heart a long time ago. When you really think about it, all I'm doing now is saying a few words and signing a few papers. The scary part is already over."

"Ah, I see you're quite the romantic," Garrus joked. "Liara will really like the part about signing papers. Nothing gets a girl's heart going faster than legal matters."

Laughing, Shepard punched him lightly. "Don't be an ass."

Before long the other guests began arriving, filing into the room, greeting the commander, and wishing her the best. She'd invited all the remaining squadmates from over the years. James came wearing his uniform, the new red, black, and white striped metal on his chest proclaiming him an N7 graduate. Shepard congratulated him on making it through the program and welcomed him as a brother in their elite group. Jacob came with Dr. Brynn and their new baby, a beautiful, little girl. Then Joker and EDI arrived, with Joker making the expected jokes about Shepard putting on the ball and chain. All of her friends filled the rows of seats: Miranda, Samara, Traynor, Ken and Gabby, Adams, Chakwas, Kasumi, Grunt, Wrex, Cortez, Hackett, and even Zaeed and Jack. The last to arrive were Tali and Ashley who walked down the aisle to where Shepard stood near the front of the room.

"Is Liara ready?" Shepard asked. They had been helping her fiancé get ready and their appearance meant that the ceremony would begin soon.

"Ready to go, Skipper," Ashley answered. The marine held out her hand, and Shepard gripped it with a smile.

"Thanks, Ash."

Ashley suddenly frowned. "Ah, crap. I was gonna say those lines from _Paradise Lost_ that everyone always says at weddings, but I forgot it already. It's bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh thou art... something something, right?"

With a grin, Shepard replied, "Flesh of flesh, bone of my bone thou art, and from thy state mine never shall be parted, bliss or woe." Then she added, "I think that means I won the game today."

Ash rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, fine. Well, you should keep that bit of poetry in mind while you're getting married."

"I will."

As Ash went to take her seat, Tali took both of Shepard's hands in hers. "I am so happy for you. For the both of you. After everything that's happened you deserve this happiness."

Pulling the quarian into a hug, Shepard said, "Thank you, Tali. For everything."

Just as everyone settled into place, Liara appeared at the back of the room. She wore a traditional asari dress, a deep blue to match her eyes and floor-length. Not nearly as elaborate as a human wedding dress, the cut was simple and tasteful with few adornments. At the sight of her wife-to-be, Shepard's heart went into overdrive and she had to remind herself to breathe. Liara had always been beautiful, but in that moment she looked radiant, and all Shepard could think was that in a matter of minutes she would be married to the woman of her dreams.

Liara smiled at the commander as she made her way down the aisle, and Shepard smiled back. In the back of her head she could hear the echoes of the past - of all the words she had thought or said when it came to her love of Liara.

_All things pass, love and mankind are grass._

_I was so afraid I lost you._

_I love you sub specie aeternitatis._

_I promise to always come back to you._

When Liara reached her and Shepard took her hands in her own, the commander mentally added another phrase.

_Flesh of flesh, bone of my bone thou art, and from thy state mine never shall be parted, bliss or woe._

~.~.~.~.~

Shepard wasn't sure why there were butterflies in her stomach. Well, no, that wasn't quite true. She knew _exactly_ why she felt so nervous. She just wished that her body could agree on what she should be feeling at the moment. Her stomach seemed to be practicing to become a contortionist, while her hands couldn't stop exploring Liara's body. Her lips were locked in an intricate dance with the asari's, her back pressed hard against the wall of their bedroom, Liara warm and vivacious against her, and all the while her brain was shouting _Oh my God, this is happening! This is really happening!_

Liara's intensity was almost overwhelming. Shepard briefly wondered if she'd have a bruise from when her wife had slammed her against the wall. A prickling ache tingled between her shoulder blades, but she quickly forgot it. Liara ripped off the commander's black jacket, tossing it to the floor, and immediately started in on the buttons of her blouse. It was all Shepard could do to keep up with the ferociousness of Liara's kisses; she felt as meek as a mouse while pinned against the wall, her stomach fluttering and her brain bouncing from thought to thought.

Determined to reassert herself, Shepard pushed off the wall and steered Liara back towards the bed at the other end of the room. Liara allowed herself to be guided, not hesitating for a second as she undid the last button on Shepard's shirt. When the back of her knees hit the edge of the bed, Shepard shoved her back so that she landed sprawled and then the commander was on her, legs straddling the asari's waist and hands pinning her blue wrists to the mattress. She could feel the proposal bracelet that she had made for Liara pressing against the palm of her left hand, making her especially conscious of the wedding band on her own finger. A savage grin spread across the human's lips as she stared down at Liara, who made only a weak attempt to free her arms from Shepard's grip. The commander had always been physically stronger than the doctor, provided Liara did not use her biotics, and she had no trouble overpowering her lover. With her weight pressing down on Liara's middle and the asari's wrists under control, Shepard would have an undeniable advantage.

But like a crack of lightning, Shepard suddenly thought better of it and loosed her hold on her wife's wrists. Her hands slid gingerly up to interlace her fingers with Liara's, and she shifted her weight so that little of it actually pressed down on her lover. Her muscles, which had been tense and full of power moments before, relaxed. Even her grin softened into an expression of tender concern.

At the sudden shift in the commander's demeanor, Liara blinked rapidly and then began to laugh. "You do not have to worry about being gentle with me, Shepard. I am not pregnant _yet_."

Blushing a little, Shepard smiled sheepishly at having her mind practically read. "I know. I'm sorry. I just - I guess I haven't fully wrapped my head around the fact that we're actually doing this."

Liara's eyes widened and her voice came out as a whisper. "You are not... not having second thoughts...?"

"No," Shepard replied quickly. "I was just... just a little nervous I guess. I don't know what I'm doing."

"You do not have to do anything," Liara assured her. "I told you before, we do not even need to actually meld again for me to start the process. But we said we wanted to make this special."

"I know," Shepard told her. "I'm sorry. I was just being stupid. I know I don't have to be gentle with you or anything. My brain is just a little all over the place since I know this is such a big step."

"Mine too," Liara admitted. "I am sorry if I hurt you when I pushed you. I was trying to forget my own nervousness."

Shepard knew that they had asked themselves this question a thousand times already, but she had to ask it again. Just one more time. "Do you think we are ready for this, Liara?"

Her wife surprised her by flashing a confident smile. "I know we are, Shepard. I can see in everything you do how much this means to you. I can see how much you care." With their hands still linked, Liara guided Shepard's right hand to her face and pressed the human's palm against her blue cheek. "And I know that I want you. All of you. With you I could face anything. With you I want to experience everything." She gingerly directed Shepard's hand down the length of her body to rest over her stomach, her hand resting over the commander's. "I want to have a child with you, Shepard."

There was only one appropriate response to that, so Shepard kissed her wife again. As they shed the rest of their clothes, Liara's eyes changed from a brilliant blue to a solid black; Shepard felt the embrace of her lover's mind as firmly as she felt the asari's real body pressed against her own. The feeling was familiar, yet excitingly new at the same time. As their nervous systems synced so too did their heartbeats and breathing, creating a steady rhythm that was uniquely the sound of their love. It felt like gaining another sense, another way of experiencing the world. In addition to everything she felt with her own body, Shepard could feel an echo of what Liara felt. A ghost of the hand pressed against Liara's lower back lingered on her own skin and when a shiver of pleasure rippled through her body she felt Liara do the same. It was a strange sensation, one that had taken some getting used to, but one with which she was now intimately familiar.

In addition to physical touch being reflected back at her, Shepard also felt the echoes of her emotions in conjunction with Liara's. But separating which emotions were hers and which were her wife's was not easily done. A medley of thoughts, feelings, hopes, and desires melded together to form a fusion that was them: Liara and Shepard. What defined one defined the other. What one experienced the other shared. Whatever parts of them remained distinct were eventually drawn into the meld, rippling across their shared consciousness as a thought or feeling before receding into the collective.

Shepard craved that connectedness more than anything else. She could still feel the physical world, of course, still enjoyed the pleasure of Liara's touch, but she willingly lost herself in their shared identity. Everything of herself she pushed aside to embrace the furnace of their love that burned so brightly between them. All she could fathom in her mind was how much she loved Liara and how much Liara loved her. Nothing else existed.

When the meld finally faded, the connection between them receding until it existed only as a faint echo of what it had been, Shepard hugged Liara close. They held each other as if the other person was the only thing keeping them from drowning in some cold abyss. Liara's breath was hot and labored in Shepard's ear, as she was sure her own was too, and her wife felt almost limp in her arms. As the active partner in the melding, Liara expended more energy maintaining the connection than Shepard who played a more submissive role. She snuggled close to the commander as if for protection, letting out a sigh of contentment as Shepard stroked her back softly.

After being one with Liara, it was hard not to feel slightly lonely after the meld. Everything else felt less real by comparison: the sheets tangled up around their legs, the pillow against Shepard's head, even the sweat beaded on her own body. The feeling would pass, it always did, but until then Shepard could only hold Liara close.

They lay together in silence for a while until Shepard finally whispered, "Are - are we...?"

Liara just nodded, kissing Shepard's collarbone before pressing her face into the crook of the human's neck. For a minute Shepard just stared off into space, stunned by the significance of the moment. Liara was pregnant. They would have a child. A family. It felt unreal. She felt exactly the same, and yet completely different. Her amazement slowly turned into a tremulous joy, filling her heart as she thought about the life she and Liara would bring into the world. She squeezed Liara's shoulders as she tilted her lover's face to place several kisses on her nose, cheeks, forehead, and lips.

Liara giggled as Shepard repositioned herself to rest her head on Liara's stomach, pressing her cheek against the smooth blue skin. The commander's heart beat wildly in her chest, creating a drumbeat that her thoughts kept time with, repeating over and over: _our child, our child, our child..._

Wrapping her fingers in the human's black hair, Liara gently stroked Shepard's head. Smiling at her wife, Liara's tone was light as she asked, "So how long can you wait until you start calling up all our friends to tell them the good news?"

Propping herself up on her elbows and grinning, Shepard replied, "Oh, maybe five minutes or so. I didn't want to ruin the moment."

Liara chuckled in response. "Promise me you will not start every conversation with 'We are going to have a part-krogan baby!'"

Crawling back over to Liara so that she could plant a kiss on her wife's lips, Shepard said, "Sorry, you know I can't promise that."

~.~.~.~.~

Leaning her elbows on the desk and rubbing her eyes, which stung from staring at the console for so long, Shepard let out a heavy sigh. It was late and she should have gone to bed two hours ago, but she had made the mistake of trying to get some work done. She hated checking her messages; it seemed like all she ever received were pleas for help. Countless people asking something of her, each reaching out to tear off a piece of Commander Shepard. With the rebuilding process practically done from the Reaper War, the various species were back to squabbling with one another over resources, territory, and the like. For every victory that Shepard achieved, such as getting the council to agree to offer seats to all other species, she ran into another wall. The council was stalling on opening the council until the next appointment cycle, still a few months away. It was the best way to transition into such a change, they assured her, smiling to her face while they fought her behind her back. Meanwhile the Alliance was pressuring her to make a formal return to their ranks and accept the rank of admiral. She'd ignored their requests for a while since she was still exploring her idea of creating a galactic military.

She was sick of people trying to take from her. Sick of all the eyes looking to her for leadership. Head in her hands, sitting at the desk in her and Liara's apartment on the Citadel, Shepard tried to collect her thoughts. But she looked up again when she felt a warm hand on her back to see Liara standing by her chair. Her wife wore some of Shepard's clothes, a loose shirt and shorts courtesy of the Alliance, that did nothing to hide the bulge of her pregnancy.

Liara rubbed her eyes, probably just waking up and finding Shepard missing, and said, "You are still up?"

Swiveling in her chair so that she could face the asari, Shepard answered, "Yeah, I was just replying to some messages."

Looking from Shepard to the console, Liara replied, "When I came in you looked like you were upset. Is everything ok?"

Shepard tried hard not to stress Liara out with her worries - that was not something she needed to add to her pregnancy - but undoubtedly her wife still sensed some of her anxiety. Liara knew that the council, along with officials from every race, hounded Shepard for her help. Whether it was advice or support they were asking for, everyone wanted something. "I'm just tired," she said.

Holding out her hand, Liara said, "Come to bed."

Taking Liara's hand and rising to her feet, Shepard wrapped her arms around her wife and drew her close. Her swollen belly pressed against the commander's own stomach as Shepard placed a tender kiss on her lips. As if in response, Shepard could feel a faint kick from the baby. She smiled, thinking how funny it was that she had felt the kick against her own stomach just as Liara had. Without another word she left the messages behind and followed her wife to the bedroom.

~.~.~.~.~

Liara had always liked the feel of Shepard's hands. They had never been soft, like her own had been when they had first met, but she liked them all the same. After months of battle, firing guns and scrambling over debris, Liara's hands had become as rough as the other soldiers aboard the Normandy. She'd formed calluses and hard palms and toughened her slender fingers, but still, there had always been something special about Shepard's hands.

She could remember when a crescent scar had snaked its way around Shepard's middle-right finger, before the Lazarus Project had removed such markings from the commander's body. Now a pale scar ran down the Shepard's left palm just below the thumb from a piece of shrapnel from the final battle with the Reapers. But despite the toughness of the commander's hands, Liara loved how gentle they could be.

She loved when Shepard cupped her face in her hands, stroking Liara's freckled cheeks with the pads of her thumbs. She loved the feel of Shepard's hands lifting her up, strong and sure. And recently she had come to love the feel of her wife's hands on her swollen belly. The worn and well-worked hands sliding tenderly over the taut, smoothness of her pregnant stomach. The way Shepard would press her cheek against the bump and laugh if she felt the baby kick. With Shepard's hands on her she felt protected, loved.

And that was what she had always loved, feeling safe in Shepard's hands.

~.~.~.~.~

Liara awoke with a start, her head foggy and overcome with confusion. She reached out next to herself for Shepard, expecting to feel the warmth of the commander's body, but instead finding the spot next to her cold. Sitting up in bed, she raised a hand to her forehead and tried to dispel her confusion. She felt so tired, both mentally and physically, that sorting through her thoughts was like dragging her feet through mud. It all came back to her slowly, a trickle of memories emptying into the ocean of her mind. The reason she was so tired was because Benezia, only two months old, repeatedly refused to sleep through the entire night. That coupled with the fact that they were packing for their move to Bekenstein had left both her and Shepard exhausted.

Separating this night from the past few restless nights was difficult, but Liara concluded that Benny must have started crying and Shepard had gone to answer the call. How long had Shepard been gone? Tossing the covers aside, Liara got up and tiptoed to the room adjacent to their own. The light was on when she arrived and she stood in the doorway. Shepard sat in a cushioned rocking chair, dressed in a robe with their daughter cradled in the crooked of her left arm. Benny was sound asleep, snuggled close to her mother who was also asleep, her head tilted back, mouth slightly parted as she breathed deeply. Shepard's right arm hung down the side of the rocking chair and a book lay face down on the floor where the commander had dropped it. One of her poetry books, no doubt.

Liara smiled at the scene. Shepard had faced just about every enemy the galaxy had to offer: geth, thresher maws, Reapers; but a new born baby had the ability to leave the commander completely drained. Making sure not to create any noise, Liara went in search of the camera.

~.~.~.~.~

The tip had been good. Hugh Ferrier allowed himself a small smile and immediately grabbed the duffel bag of gear out of his rental car. Trying to look casual, he made his way to an empty picnic table on the edge of the playground and claimed a seat with a good view of his target. Unzipping the bag, he retrieve a half completed model ship and set it on the table, positioning it so that the stern faced away from him. Then he set up the array of parts, glue, and other tools to complete the illusion. As he pretended to work, Hugh stole another glance towards the park and the various people present. Families of all species played with their children on the playground equipment, the shouts of the kids punctuating the air. But one family in particular held his attention.

An asari mother was lifting her three year old child from a stroller while her human bondmate put their things on a nearby bench. The human had night black hair hanging down past her shoulders, dressed in long, dark blue pants and a white shirt beneath a leather jacket. A pretty woman, but not terribly remarkable at first glance unless a person knew what to look for: a distinct scar cutting through her left eyebrow, a predatory way of moving that spoke of someone ready for an attack, and a pair of unmistakable violet eyes. Hugh Ferrier knew for certain who she was. Commander Shepard.

Which made the asari with her, Dr. Liara T'soni, and the child their daughter Benezia. Little was known about the family as Shepard had taken a firm stance on preventing media coverage of them. Originally reporters had been eager at the news of Shepard's child being born, many thinking that obtaining pictures of the famous family would be a simple matter. That notion had proved surprisingly false. Shepard had always had a reputation of being good with the press. In years past she had never struck a reporter or given so much as a rude word. While this resulted in a lack of sensationalism, it did create a sense of comfort for reporters, who never had to fear angering the legendary soldier. That had all changed once Benezia was born.

The commander had set up the boundaries quickly and effectively. While she presented nothing other than professionalism when it came to press confronting her one-on-one or during her excursions to the Citadel to meet with the council, coming anywhere near her in a personal setting carried a risk to property and person. Being caught with recording devices near her daughter resulted in a loss of valuable equipment. Foolishly pursuing the commander after that resulted in sparking her temper and inviting a trip to the emergency room. And with her spectre status Commander Shepard was free to do as she pleased. She'd even had the gall to arrest one reporter _after_ she had given him a black eye.

So Hugh Ferrier knew the risks when he surreptitiously flicked a switch on the underside of the ship model, turning on a small hidden camera within. But he knew the possible reward too. A video or picture of the family was worth a fortune to the right media outlets, even if the subject was as mundane as a day at the park. He watched Shepard out of his peripheral vision as he pretended to work on the ship model.

Benezia sat on Shepard's shoulders, reaching for the monkey bars with Liara's help. When the little girl had a grip on the bars, Shepard ducked down so that her daughter could hang freely, kicking and giggling. The commander hovered nearby, ready to catch the asari if she should fall. _This is the woman who saved the galaxy?_ Hugh wondered. He'd heard the stories about her, about how she forged alliances in the face of impossible odds, how she had led charge after charge into heated firefights, and how she had laughed in the face of death countless times. The woman before him now was not the same woman who had shot a human councilor without blinking or destroyed an entire system to buy time against the Reapers. She was the doting parent, the loving wife, a person you might like to grab a cup of coffee with. Had parenthood really changed her so much? Had she really lost her claws after all these years?

It wasn't until after Shepard had caught her daughter at the bottom of a slide and suddenly looked in his direction that Hugh realized that he had been staring. He hastily lowered his gaze, pretending to be engrossed in his ship model. He waited a few seconds before raising his eyes enough to see that Shepard had looked away again and was walking her daughter back over to Liara. Had she seen him staring? She didn't appear alarmed as Liara began pushing Benezia on the swing set. Shepard casually leaned against one of the poles and checked her omni-tool, which didn't seem strange since many of the other parents were doing the same as their children played.

Hugh was ready to conclude that he was in the clear when suddenly the hidden camera began making a strange clicking noise. Cursing under his breath, Hugh hit the power switch, abruptly ending the sound as the machine powered off. But when he went to switch it back on the light that told him it was working wouldn't come on. He tried flicking the switch a few more times but the camera refused to reboot. A cold sweat broke out on the back of his neck as he looked up and realized that Shepard had vanished. Liara stilled pushed Benezia on the swing, but the commander had slipped away while he was distracted.

He didn't have long to wonder where she had gone as she suddenly slid into the seat across from him. Her face was all hard lines and anger, violet eyes full of a fire that had not been there moments before. The pale white scar cutting up vertically through her left eyebrow seemed more terrifying now, a reminder that the woman before him had fought Reapers. Fought and killed them. The aura of Commander Shepard was one of danger. A threat. A promise. How had he made the mistake of thinking that she had lost her claws?

Without a word she reached out and picked up the fake model ship, turning it over in her hands. Hugh didn't dare stop her. He'd been caught, he knew. She quickly located the hidden camera, ripping it out of the model and crushing it in a biotically wreathed fist. Hugh's stomach did a few flips as he imagined that tiny machine as his heart instead.

"I swear, it's like you all forget that I spent time with some of the greatest engineers in the galaxy," she grumbled. "Hell, I lived on a ship full of hidden cameras."

It seemed obvious now. Why had he ever thought that following Commander Shepard would be that easy? How had he ever thought that he might be the first to try using a hidden camera on her? Now he just hoped she'd let him walk away unscathed.

"Please," he said. "I'm sorry. I won't-"

"Try this again?" she interrupted. "For your sake, I hope you don't try it again." Leaning across the table she lowered her voice to a dangerous tone and added, "I remember faces, and I will remember yours. If I ever see you again, well... I'll make sure that it _is_ the last time I see your face. Do you understand?"

Hugh couldn't seem to find his voice so he just nodded instead.

"Good. Now leave."

She watched him hastily throw the broken equipment back into the bag and scuttle away back to his car. He started the engine and tore off without so much as looking back. He had no idea if she'd make good on her threat if she saw him again, but he had no intention of finding out.

~.~.~.~.~

Shepard watched Benny throw a snowball, striking Kaidan square in the face. Ashley's oldest son fell back, landing on his butt in the snow while his younger brother, John, laughed. Benny, only eight years old but already a shrewd little fighter, took the opportunity to catch John on the ear with another frozen projectile. As her daughter ran from her two new enemies, Shepard turned her attention back to the mug of coffee in front of her. Inside the house, sitting at a round table dragged near the window so that they could keep an eye on the children, Ashley, Liara, and Shepard were sheltered against the cold. Yet Liara, who had little experience with snow since it never snowed on Thessia, watched the kids anxiously. The asari didn't like the cold - she hated it almost as much as Garrus - and she had never learned to like the snow that came every winter. Shepard couldn't exactly blame her considering Noveria had been Liara's first experience with such extreme cold and Noveria was not a place of fond memories.

"Are you sure it is safe for them to be hitting each other like that?" Liara asked, her mouth pulled down into a concerned frown. Of all the snow activities Shepard had introduced her wife to over the years, the only one that Liara seemed to like was building snowmen and snow forts. She distrusted sleds and she winced every time a snowball hit Benny.

Glancing outside again, Shepard just chuckled and said, "When I was a kid, my brothers and I would beat the crap out of each other with sticks all the time. Trust me, a snowball is nothing compared to that."

Ashley grinned. "Yeah, count your blessings that I have two boys instead of girls. Girls are a thousand times more vicious. I know; I grew up with three sisters."

Liara looked unconvinced. Leaning over to place her hand over her wife's, Shepard said, "Don't worry, Liara. It's normal for kids to roughhouse. Just look how much fun they are having."

Liara watched the children running and laughing and finally nodded, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. Turning her attention back to Ashley, Shepard changed the topic. "So, do you know if it's a boy or girl yet?"

Ashley took a sip of her decaffeinated coffee, laying a hand over her pregnant belly and said, "Another boy." Grinning, she added, "How ironic is it that I grew up in a household of girls and now I'm living in a household of boys?"

"If anyone could raise three boys though, it'd probably be you."

"I suppose you're off duty right now then?" Liara asked.

"Active duty, yeah," Ashley replied. "I'm doing paperwork now." She pinched her face into a disgusted expression. "I'm not saying I'm not glad to have the Williams family curse lifted, but the desk work that comes with this higher rank is awful." Then, changing to a lighter tone she added, "Speaking of paperwork, I heard you were given some big prothean award, Liara."

Blushing, Liara said, "Oh, well, it is not really an award. The administrators of the Mars Archive are opening one of their oldest vaults of prothean artifacts and they have invited me to oversee the first few weeks of research."

Raising an eyebrow Ashley asked, "Wait, does that mean you're going to be gone on business for a while?"

"Sort of. I will spend about two weeks on Mars overseeing and then bring back some of the more interesting artifacts to study here at the university. They wanted me to stay longer, but I did not want to be away from Benny for so long."

"Yeah, I can understand that," Ashley said, her tone suddenly more pensive as she tapped her fingers against the side of her mug. "That reminds me, I had a favor I wanted to ask you both. The last time I took Kaidan to the doctor they told me that he had biotic potential."

Shepard smiled. "Wow, he really is taking after his namesake."

"Tell me about it. Biotics don't exactly run in the family. John has also been tested, but he has as much biotic potential as me: zero. Anyway, the doctor recommended enrolling him at Grissom Academy... apparently they have the best human biotic training program now."

"You can thank Jack for that, probably."

"Jack?" Ashley asked. "Who is that?"

"An old friend," Shepard explained. "A teacher at the academy now. Anyway, are you going to send Kaidan to school there?"

"I'm thinking about it. I just don't know if I want to send him off to a boarding school like that though... But I don't know anything about biotics either. I'm thinking of visiting the school with Kaidan to check it out. And I was hoping that Benny might come with us."

"Benny?" Liara asked. "I believed Grissom Academy was only for human children."

"It is," Ashley admitted. "But I think Kaidan will feel better if Benny is there with him while we visit. His brother will never be a biotic and he won't really understand. I thought since Benny will eventually have biotics too... well, just knowing he wasn't alone might help."

Shepard exchanged a quick glance with Liara and then said, "Of course, Ash. I think Benny would be happy to visit the school with him. When were you thinking of going?"

"There isn't a big rush or anything. He just has the potential, he hasn't been expressing biotics yet. I thought I'd wait until after the baby is born at least. I still need to tell him about the trip."

"I know the director of the school. I'll make a call and make an appointment," Shepard offered. Then a thought suddenly occurred to her, causing her to shake her head with a grin.

"What is it?" Liara asked.

"I just realized that this will be the first time Benny will meet Jack..."


	7. The Biotic School

**Wow, surprise, surprise, I'm updating "After" before I update "Never Again." I know, I'm rather shocked too. Now, before you get alarmed, I promise you that I have been working very hard on "Never Again" and I swear that it is very close to completion. The reason this is being updated first, is that I've actually had the majority of this chapter written, but I just didn't know how to end it. Then, out of the blue, I figured out how to end it and also make it work into the storyline that I'm going to start threading through the rest of this story. So, yay, an update to "After"!**

**This will be the first, but certainly not the last, chapter from Benny's point of view. Slowly, I am going to hand the reins over to her more and more. I still want to tell Shepard's story, but eventually I want to conclude by making the story about the next generation. This is the chapter about going to Grissom and meeting Jack that I promised. After this, we'll skip ahead again and I have a major plot to start.**

**Also, on a side note, I wanted to say that I went back recently and reread all of "After." It's been a while since I did so, so in many ways it felt new and fresh - or at least I didn't remember it as well. I was surprised by how much I liked it. As most of you are probably aware, I've always been vocal about my concerns about "After," about it being too sweet, but I officially take all that back. I promise not to be such a downer about it anymore. I think "After" is exactly what it should be. Anyway, hope you all enjoy the chapter.**

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.**

**The Biotic School**

When the shuttle finally docked, Benny was the first one out the door, eager to see the inside of the space station. She'd seen it from a distance when they arrived in the sector: a huge, multi-leveled structure floating in the void. A school, she'd been told. A school for biotics.

Kaidan followed after her, albeit at a slower pace, his face holding less excitement. She couldn't understand why he was so upset. Didn't he see the potential for adventure? An entire space station to explore, new people to meet, and the chance to become a powerful biotic. She would never tell him, but Benny was a little jealous that she couldn't go to the school too.

As her mom and Aunt Ashley joined the two children on the platform, Benny noticed a woman approaching from the opposite end of the docking bay. She was older, with gray hair and a worn, though kind, face. She wore an Alliance uniform, but walked with a sense of ease, and her eyes were the palest blue she had ever seen. Smiling at the two children as she reached their group, she immediately sought out Benny's mom and shook her hand. "Commander Shepard. It's good to see you again. It's been a long time." Benny could never figure out why people used the rank of commander when talking to her mother. Growing up in a military family, Benny had known ranks before she could even read, and she knew that commander was nowhere close to the correct level. But everyone always called her Commander Shepard, and her mother didn't seem the least bit offended.

"It has, Kahlee," Momma agreed. Oddly, her voice sounded slightly more timid than it usually did, as if she were slightly uncomfortable with the meeting. "Thanks for letting us come look at the school."

"It's no trouble at all." The older woman turned to Aunt Ashley and also shook her hand. "You must be Admiral Williams. I've heard a lot about you." Then glancing at Kaidan, she added, "And this must be your son. Kaidan, right?"

The boy just nodded shyly.

Then looking at Benny, the woman said, "And you must be Benezia. I've heard a lot about you as well."

Benny didn't know what to say to that. She didn't know anything about this woman, though apparently she was an important person at the school. She felt sure that this woman wasn't another aunt or uncle, just someone Momma knew from a long time ago.

Luckily, the woman didn't need a reply and she turned her attention back to Kaidan. "I'm sure you'd like to see more of the school. Why don't you follow me and I will show you around?" She motioned for them to follow her and led them out of the docking bay. Kaidan walked with his mom, clutching her hand and peering around at everything. Benny fell back to walk beside her own mother, but she wasn't a baby; she didn't need someone to hold her hand.

They walked through a wide hallway with classrooms on either side. Peering inside the rooms Benny could see desks, though they were empty right now, and posters all over the walls. It looked just like her school back home. The woman who had greeted them talked about classes and other boring things. Benny tuned her out. Then they entered one of the dormitory areas and the woman showed them a typical room that two students would share. This seemed a lot more exciting, and Benny imagined what it would be like to be live by herself like an adult. Well, by herself, plus another kid. But still, it would be like playing house, except it wouldn't be pretend; it would be real.

Aunt Ashley started asking several questions, and they stopped while the woman answered. As Benny continued to look around the dorm, her mother knelt down beside her and said, "Well, what do you think, Benny?"

"Do kids really get to live all by themselves?"

"They're not completely by themselves. It's a boarding school. That means the kids live at the school most of the time, and they are watched over by their teachers. But they do learn to be very independent."

Benny glanced at Kaidan, who was still clinging to his mother's hand. "Why isn't Kaidan excited about coming here? I think it'd be fun."

Momma gave a small smile and placed a hand on Benny's shoulder. "Coming here would mean being away from your family. If you came here it would mean you would live here during the school year. You'd have to leave me and Mommy."

"Oh," Benny said with a frown. She hadn't thought about that. "Does that mean I won't see Kaidan anymore?"

"No, sweetie, you'll see Kaidan. Don't worry. He'll only be here during the school year. He'll go home on breaks and you'll see him the same as before."

She let out her pent up breath, relieved. She'd known Kaidan practically since she was born. She couldn't imagine having to say goodbye forever.

The woman giving the tour, Aunt Ashley, and Kaidan were starting to move down the hall again, and Momma rose to her feet. As she nudged Benny along she said, "You might want to tell Kaidan that you like it here though. It might make him feel better."

Benny nodded. They followed the woman down a series of hallways until they came to a walkway overlooking a large gym. Tall windows looked down into the facility that was set up for biotic training. Several students, all of varying ages, practiced in groups, the sound of their voices muffled by the glass. Benny and Kaidan both eagerly pressed their faces against the windows, straining to get a good look at everything going on. While the students all wore identical workout uniforms, one woman moved about the room dressed in a leather jacket and baggy pants. She shouted at the kids, pointing her finger and occasionally using her own biotics to demonstrate the techniques they were practicing.

"Here we have our biotic gymnasium," said their tour guide. "Commander Shepard, I'm sure you'll recognize our head instructor, Jack."

"Wait," Aunt Ashley said, squinting down at the short woman in the leather jacket. "That's Jack? All this time I thought she was a guy."

"She's also a felon," Momma added with a shrug.

"A what?!"

"She's responsible now. I swear. Being a teacher was really good for her. She loves her students."

"You want me to let a felon train my son in biotics, Shepard?"

"I vouch for her, Ash. Trust me, she's the teacher you want."

Aunt Ashley grumbled something under her breath, but nodded her head.

"Jack is an exceptional teacher," the school director agreed. "I will have you meet her later. Now, if you'll follow me, I'll provide you with a copy of our school curriculum." The adults set off again and Benny reluctantly peeled herself away from the glass. Both she and Kaidan cast glances back towards the gym as they followed behind their parents. Benny wanted to be where the other children were - she wanted to explore.

Spotting an open door and seeing that the adults were absorbed in their own conversation, Benny grabbed Kaidan by the arm and pulled him into the room. He gave her a knowing look, nodded, and they headed for a nearby exit door. Down a flight of stairs and around a corner, they found themselves in a locker room, with rows of lockers, benches, and boxes of equipment. The sound of voices drifted in through a nearby doorway and the children poked their heads out to see the gym where the students were still training. Benny watched as a girl with long, brown hair smashed three disks in the air with her biotics while her friends cheered her on. A red headed boy stepped into her place afterwards and a machine launched three more disks.

"Wow," Benny whispered. "I can't wait until I can do that."

Kaidan raised an eyebrow and frowned. "What's so great about it?" he grumbled. "I'm some kind of freak now. I even have to go to a new school. It isn't fair."

The little asari studied his face, noting the misery in his dark brown eyes and the way he nervously ran a hand through his dark hair. She'd known him all her life - he was her closest friend - and she had never seen him so upset. "We're not freaks, Kaidan," she said. "We're biotics. We'll be able to do all kinds of awesome stuff."

Rolling his eyes, he pushed away from the doorway and sat down on one of the long benches in the locker room. "It's not the same for you, Benny. You're an asari. You're supposed to have biotics. I'm not. Most humans aren't biotics. That's why there's this special school for us."

"My mom is a biotic," Benny said indignantly. Crossing her arms, she came to stand before him and narrowed her eyes. "Besides, who cares what most people are? Do you want to be like everyone else?"

"No," he grumbled, then turning his head to the side and focusing on a spot on the floor, he added, "I don't know. This is all happening so fast."

Softening her expression, Benny sat next to her friend and let a moment of silence fill the air. She knew he was scared, of changing, of losing everything he knew. He'd accept it all in time, but for now he just needed to know that he wasn't going to lose everything. That he wouldn't lose her. So, nudging him with her elbow and grinning, she said, "You know I'm going to be a better biotic than you."

His lips parted in a scowl and he gave her a shove, trying to knock her off the bench. "Yeah, right! I'll be so far ahead of you by the time you get your biotics that you'll never catch up. You've never beat me at anything, anyway."

"Liar!" she teased. She was just about to point out that she had beat him in a race to the shuttle earlier that day, but a sharp voice cracked the air like a whip.

"Who the hell are you little runts?"

Both children's heads snapped towards the doorway to see the woman in the leather jacket, the teacher, standing there and glaring at them. Her arms were crossed beneath her breasts and she looked ready to chew glass. Benny and Kaidan jumped to their feet, their faces suddenly full of fear.

"Sorry. We were just looking," Benny explained.

Kaidan put in, "We'll leave, ma'am."

"No you won't," the woman said, and her tone just dared them to try to defy her orders. Neither child moved a muscle. "What are your names?"

"Kaidan."

"Benny."

To the asari's horror, the woman's eyes narrowed on her, studying her from head to toe. Then she said, "You must be Shepard's kid, huh?"

At that, Benny became immediately suspicious. How did this woman know who she was? How did she know her mother? Finding a bit of nerve, Benny didn't say anything in response and just glared back at the woman.

To her surprise, the woman just laughed at that. "Yup, you're Shepard's kid all right." Then turning her eyes to Kaidan, she added, "That makes you the one named after the dead guy, then. My newest student." Uncrossing her arms, she headed towards the exit, gesturing for them to follow her. "Well, come on. I gotta go say hi to your mom, so I'll take you both back with me." She didn't even look to see if the kids were following.

Benny and Kaidan exchanged glances and then went after her. The three of them walked through the halls in silence for a while until Benny summoned the courage to ask, "How do you know my mom?"

The woman didn't even glance back. "We've seen a lot of terrible shit together. She did me some solid favors. I fought for her. That's about all there is to it."

Benny knew that both her parents had fought in the Reaper War, though she didn't know many of the details. She knew that close family friends like Aunt Ashley, Aunt Tali, Uncle Garrus, and Uncle Wrex had fought in the war too. But she didn't know anything about this woman. What had her mom said the woman's name was? Jack? "You fought in the Reaper War with both my moms?"

At that Jack let out a derisive snort. "I never really knew the blue chick that Shepard ended up with. Met her before, but she seemed like even more of a goody two-shoes than Shepard. I fought in the war, but not with Shepard. We fought together before all that shit even hit the fan."

That answer just confused Benny more. Was this woman in the Alliance with Momma? She didn't seem like the type. Benny exchanged a questioning look with Kaidan, who shrugged, and she decided to let the subject drop. Soon after they ran into Momma, Aunt Ashley, and the school director again.

"I found your kid, Shepard," Jack announced, stopping and crossing her arms beneath her breasts again.

"Jack," Momma replied with a smile. "Good to see you again."

"Yeah, yeah," Jack replied dismissively.

The school director cleared her throat and interjected, "Admiral Williams, this is our head instructor, Jack." Then to Kaidan she added, "And I see you two have already met."

Momma grinned, looked at Benny, and said, "Was Jack nice when you met her?"

Benny didn't know what to say to that. Jack didn't really strike her as a woman anyone would label as "nice." But Jack cut in by chuckling and saying, "You don't have to cover for me, kid. Your mom knows I'm never nice."

"But all of the students love, Jack," the school director interjected, eager to point out Jack's good qualities. "They're absolutely devoted to her."

Jack snorted at that, re-crossed her arms and looked away.

A moment of awkward silence followed for a moment until Aunt Ashley broke it by saying, "So, Kaidan, what do you think? Do you like the school?"

His eyes widened at being put on the spot, and he looked unsure of how to respond. Immediately, he sought out Benny and stared at her with a questioning look, begging her to help him. But she had no idea what to say either. She liked the school, but she wasn't the one who would have to live there. She couldn't, since it was only for human biotics. But he was her oldest friend, and she wanted him to be happy.

Jack's eyes narrowed on him and she let out an irritated _tsking_ noise. "Are you afraid?" she demanded.

He recoiled at the words, shocked that she would be so direct with him like that. Probably also mortified that she was right and had called him out on it. Benny could see his jaw line tighten as he bit back a knee-jerk retort. He seemed to struggle for an answer, and didn't say anything.

"Well, you might as well get over that fear now," Jack went on, as if she were stating the most obvious thing in the world. "You have to step out of your mommy's shadow sometime - or did you want to ride her coattails all your life?" Both Kaidan and Aunt Ashley glared at the woman, but she didn't seem to notice or care. "If you come here, you get to start being your own person. You start deciding whether you're gonna be a badass or just a sad, little punk. Of course you're scared. Being someone different -" She glanced suddenly at Momma and held her gaze for the briefest of seconds before continuing. "Being someone better is scary. But it beats letting someone else control your life. Take it from someone who knows."

Aunt Ashley looked absolutely shocked and she laid a hand on Kaidan's shoulder protectively. The school director looked uncomfortable, but didn't say anything to scold Jack. Surprisingly, Momma nodded slightly, although she looked sad.

Then, suddenly, Jack was looking straight at Benny and she added, "Shit, I feel more sorry for this one than I do for you. People are going to expect -"

"That's enough, Jack," Momma cut in abruptly, her voice in commander mode. Benny only ever heard that tone when she was in trouble and it was clear that Momma would not repeat herself.

Jack's face twisted, as if tasting something sour, but after a moment she slowly nodded and let whatever she was going to say drop. "Point is," she said, turning back to Kaidan, "you should pick your own path, kid. And knowing what to do with your biotics and how to use them are gonna help you do that. You might as well forget about your other fears because when you're in my class, the only thing you'll be afraid of is me."

At that, Jack turned swiftly on her heel and walked away. The last thing she did was call over her shoulder, "See ya, Shepard. We should grab drinks sometime." Then she headed back towards the gym without another word.

Momma just shook her head with a small smile and looked amused. Aunt Ashley let out a huff of air and said, "Well, she wasn't what I was expecting. But I guess I should have known better when you said she was your friend, Shepard."

"Probably," Momma agreed.

The school director said, "I know you probably don't believe me, Admiral, but Jack really is the most amazing teacher I have ever seen. It always starts the same, when students meet her for the first time they despise her. She brings the entire class together in their mutual dislike for her. Then after a few weeks something shifts. I don't know why exactly, but the kids all begin to love her. They hang on her every word. She gives them pride in being biotics. She gives them the desire to be better people." Then, turning to Momma, she added, "And I'm sure you could tell, Shepard, that the students have had an effect on Jack too. She doesn't curse half as much as she used to, and she's softened up. The worst thing she does now is play practical jokes on the rest of the faculty. And she gets the students involved. But that's a small price to pay."

Momma smiled. "I did notice. I noticed the change right after she first started teaching. I'm really happy for her. She deserves to be happy."

"I guess I'll have to take your word for it," Aunt Ashley muttered. "She seemed pretty rude to me."

Benny looked at Kaidan and noticed that his expression was thoughtful as he stared down the hall towards the gym. In that second Benny knew that he would agree to go to the school. What Jack had said had struck a chord with him. It had stirred something within Benny too.

"Well," the director said, turning to Aunt Ashley and changing the subject, "you've seen most of the school and met our head instructor. Perhaps you and Kaidan should come to my office and we'll discuss the process of enrollment?"

Aunt Ashley nodded and took Kaidan's hand. They followed after the director while Momma and Benny stayed behind. Momma looked down at Benny and said, "While they're talking, do you want to go back and look at the gym?"

Benny nodded and followed her mother back down the hall. They arrived to see Jack reentering the gym and barking orders. Watching the students' faces carefully, Benny saw them smile at her entrance and eagerly jump to follow her commands. The little asari thought about when Jack had turned to her and said that she felt sorry for her. People were going to expect... what from her? And then Momma had cut Jack off, and she seemed angry. But why? Benny was almost afraid to ask, but now she needed an answer.

"Momma," she said, "what did Jack mean when she said that she felt sorry for me?"

Momma sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Then she knelt down to be on eye level with Benny. "I know you're a very smart girl, Benny, and I know that you've noticed that Mommy and I are fairly well-known by other people. And I also know that you've noticed that your aunts and uncles are all very well respected people too. So, you've probably guessed that our family is... sort of unique." She reached out and took one of Benny's small, blue hands in both of hers. "Jack thinks - and she's probably right - that other people are going to expect that you grow up to be like either Mommy or me. But, sweetheart, I want you to remember that what other people want you to be doesn't matter. Mommy and I want you to be whatever makes you happy. You don't have to be a scientist or a soldier. If you want to be an artist, or a politician, or a businesswoman that's all fine. If you want to study medicine or law or be an athlete of some kind, that's all fine too. You don't have to be like me or Mommy. You are your own person. A wonderful person."

Benny's brow furrowed as she digested her mother's words. She knew that her parents were sort of famous. At least, they knew a lot of powerful people. Aunt Miranda was the human councilor, Aunt Tali was a quarian admiral, Uncle Wrex led the krogan... and the list went on and on. But suddenly she knew that it went deeper than all that. Her parents... they were more than she knew. The rest of the galaxy knew something about them that she didn't.

She loved them though. Of that, she was sure. Why wouldn't she want to be like them? Momma was always telling her to try her best, to strive to be the best. If her parents were the best, then what was wrong with trying to be like them? "What if I _do_ want to be like you?" she asked.

Momma looked surprised, as if the thought had never occurred to her. She took a moment before responding. "I guess that'd be ok too. As long as it was your decision and not someone else's." Then, lowering her voice she added, "But, Benny, you don't really know what it would mean to be like me. Not yet."

"What does it mean to be like you, then?" the little girl asked. She remembered finding out that Momma knew Jack from before the war; her first inkling that her mother's influence went farther back than the Reaper War. Her first inkling that there was more about her parents than she knew.

Her mother shook her head. "I can't say. Not yet." When Benny frowned, Momma added, "It isn't a secret that I want to keep from you, Benny. It's just a conversation we need to have when you're a little older. And I know you don't like hearing that either, but just try to be patient for now. Can you do that?"

Benny nodded, a little sulkily, but she trusted her mother.

"Good. In the meantime, just remember that Mommy and I love you, and you can't make us any prouder than by just being yourself." Standing, Momma still held Benny's hand, and she looked down at her with a smile.

Benny stared back, though it struck her that her mother didn't seem quite like the same person anymore. She knew now that there were things about her parents that she didn't know. That when other people looked at her parents, they saw different people than who she saw.

"I'll race you back to the shuttle," Momma said, letting go of her hand and starting off at a trot.

Benny smiled, ran after, and just like that she felt reassured. Maybe she didn't know everything about her parents, but they were still the same people. She could still play with them, still talk to them, still go to them for comfort. She still loved them, and that was all that mattered.


	8. Loose Ends

**Let's give credit where credit is due. In a conversation with Karmen Sandiego, this suggestion was ****made: "Add in a bad guy who kidnaps Liara or something! Not Benny... that's too angsty... but like some Batarian who still hates Shep so he kidnaps her wife and Shep goes all renegade badass to get her back." At first, I was still up to my eyeballs in work to be done on "Never Again," so I placed the suggestion in the back of my head and let it stew there for a while. While it rested on the shelf, the idea had time to sink in and take root and I began to see a storyline forming. Not a word for word interpretation of the suggestion, perhaps, but a means by which to tie up some loose ends. It took on a life of its own and grew into a way for me to address several issues I have been meaning to get to. So, thank you K.S. for planting a little seed in my head. These next few chapters are what it blossomed into.**

**If you don't already know, "Never Again" is finally complete. I will also say that an understanding of my re-imagined ending for ME3 is necessary to understand this storyline. They are too closely linked to pull apart and I did not want to spend the time rehashing the ending here. I don't know if anyone who reads "After" has not read "Never Again," but this may get confusing if you don't know how my ending differs from Bioware's.**

**Anyway, with "Never Again" complete, "After" remains the only story I have yet to finish and it now gets all of my attention. Well, all of the attention that I devote to writing. This new story arc will probably take about three chapters, and then I already know what I want to write next. Now the trick will be finding the time to sit down and write it all.**

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.**

**Loose Ends**

The man in black waved his hand in front of him, flipping through the various documents projected before his eyes. Information at his fingertips, though not nearly the amount that he had grown accustomed to in years past. But times changed. You either adapted, or you became extinct. That was the cruel, hard truth of the galaxy, and the man in black was accustomed to cruel, hard truths.

But more importantly, he was accustomed to waiting. He knew the art of investment, in biding one's time until the opportune moment and then striking when his enemy least expected it. His plan now had taken a long time to blossom, but he hoped the fruits would benefit from the extra effort. They had to. If they did not, he doubted that he'd live long enough to scheme again.

So far, everything was on schedule, but it was still early. He had not even brought the most dangerous element into the mix yet: Commander Shepard. Once he drew her in, the variables to control would multiply exponentially. If life were like a game of chess, then she was a queen piece that refused to play by the rules. She would move in both predictable and unpredictable ways, and she would take as many turns as she liked.

Yet, the man in black had taken precautions. An idiot might have tried to kidnap either Shepard's wife or child in order to control her, thinking that it would provide the ultimate leverage against the hero. A false notion. Shepard excelled under pressure. The higher the stakes, the more flawless her performance. Besides, attacking her heart like that would have been the equivalent of signing his own death warrant. Commander Shepard did not forget and she did not forgive.

No, the trick was picking the right kind of leverage. Someone that would get Shepard's attention, but not necessarily spark the same blind rage that her wife or child would induce. Someone Shepard would not ignore, but who would not cloud her ability to reason either. The man needed Shepard to be rational. He needed the part of Shepard that could deal in cold, hard logic. Otherwise she would be too unpredictable to control.

A male voice quickly barked over the radio. "Sir, Alpha Team has just reported in. Bringing the prisoner to you immediately."

"Understood," the man said. He finished looking through the files, and with a swift movement of his hand made them vanish. Turning his chair towards the door, he waited patiently for his guest to arrive.

Three soldiers marched into the room, two dragging the prisoner between them and the third bringing up the rear as support. The hostage was a human woman, dressed in a fashionable white dress that would have been appropriate at any formal function. It was cut low enough to show off the woman's assets without seeming distasteful, and the tailoring was obviously of superior quality. Unfortunately, the dress had been torn and dirtied a bit from the struggle. Over her head was a black bag and her hands were handcuffed behind her back.

The man made a gesture for the soldiers to uncover her face. When the bag was lifted from her eyes, she glared at the man with an expression that promised death, and then, when she saw his face, absolute shock. Her mouth hung open and her black hair stuck to her forehead, disheveled from the bag.

"Miranda Lawson," the man in black said, taking out a cigarette, putting it to his lips, and lighting it. He took a long drag and then said, "It's been a long time."

"The Illusive Man," she growled. "I had hoped that you were dead somewhere. What hole did you crawl out of?"

Leaning back in his chair, he said, "Now, now, Miranda. Is that any way to talk to your old boss? Sorry about the rough transportation. I doubted you'd be very... cooperative on your own."

"Damn right," she muttered. Miranda made a move to pull free from her guards, but the two men on either side of her held fast. "So what is this, revenge? You finally tracked me down? You're a little late to the party. I've been in the public eye for years as the human councilor."

"Oh, yes, I know," he replied. "Your loyalty to Shepard really did pay off." He took another drag from his cigarette. "However, I'm afraid I will have to hurt your pride, Miranda. You're not the one I'm after. You're bait. That's not to say I won't have a use for you, though. Your position as human councilor has its merits."

"What are you after?" Miranda demanded. "What are you up to?"

The Illusive Man smiled. "I'm doing what I do best, Miranda. Subterfuge. But more than that, I'm evolving. Shepard taught me that Cerberus could not be an army against the entire galaxy. That approach was foolish. No..." He exhaled a puff of smoke from his cigarette, the fog obscuring his face. "I'm taking a page out of our mutual enemy's playbook instead. I'll use the greatest weapon humanity ever bred in order to ensure human dominance. I'll use Commander Shepard."

~.~.~.~.~

Her fists struck the bag in quick, fluid motions. One, two, three, four. Left, right, left, right. Then a brief pause, enough time to take a breath, and she changed the type of strike. A regular punch, four hits. Then a forearm strike, four hits. Then a palm strike, four hits. And so on. Shepard's movements were practiced, controlled, and her mind was completely absorbed in her actions. Sweat rolled down her bare arms, it collected on the back of her neck, and it fell from her forehead into her eyes, but she blinked it away. There were plenty of other people in the gym, soldiers of all different species, but the commander stood alone. To her all that existed at the moment was the punching bag, the feel of her fists making contact and the strain in her muscles.

It was easy to separate new recruits from veterans simply by how much attention they paid the commander. Those who had served in the Galactic Military for a while completely ignored her. They worked alone or in pairs, lifting weights, running on the track, or doing any number of exercises. Seeing Commander Shepard engrossed in her workout routine had lost its novelty long ago. If she was on the base, then anyone could see her at midday at the gym. They simply couldn't talk to her. People had tried in the past, and sometimes the fresh meat would be foolish enough to try too, but she just trained people with a gaze that said they were transgressing on something sacred and if they persisted she wouldn't need a punching bag anymore. Still, the newbies insisted on watching her, marveling at seeing a living legend look almost... human.

For Shepard, it was a ritual. It was comforting to clear her mind and concentrate on the purely physical for a while. She liked to forget her other duties and revert back to the most basic foundations of being a soldier: fighting and struggling. She was glad that her days of constant danger were behind her, but all the same they were events that defined her. There was comfort in hanging up her command for a while and just pretending to be a simple soldier.

Absorbed in the moment, her thoughts only on the next strike, it took several tries before Shepard heard her name being called. Her right fist struck the bag, causing it to rock back and shake, but when it swung back she caught it with both hands and stood up straight. Turning, she saw EDI standing behind her.

If EDI was annoyed at having to struggle to get the commander's attention, she didn't show it. Instead, she said, "Shepard, there's a transmission that needs your attention immediately."

Shepard knew that EDI would not bother her during her workout if it wasn't truly something important. Walking over to a nearby bench, she picked up a towel and wiped the sweat from her face. "A message? About what?"

"I don't know. The call was sent directly to your private conference room, bypassing the proper clearance channels. The call also requires your voice print to access."

Shepard frowned. Draping the towel around her shoulders, she motioned for EDI to walk with her back to the command center. A voice print? Well, anyone with extranet access could obtain a sample of her voice. But bypassing clearance channels suggested someone with hacking expertise. The Shadow Broker maybe? Feron had never been so aggressive about trying to contact her though. In fact, he preferred to contact Liara first. "And whoever it is has just been waiting for me to answer the call?" she asked.

EDI nodded. "Yes. They have been persistent in waiting."

They left the gym area and Shepard began unwrapping the tape from around her knuckles. She flexed her fingers as she thought. "And could you determine who it is?"

"I cannot be positive, but... I did notice something strange about the encryption. The layering of the encryption and the style is reminiscent of... well, of Cerberus."

Shepard almost stopped dead in her tracks, but forced herself to keep walking. "Cerberus? Are you sure?"

"I was created by them, Shepard. I know their encryption techniques inside and out. This is... well, it is new, but it is familiar. Though perhaps someone else is using Cerberus encryption to throw us off. The Shadow Broker has told us before that Cerberus remained inactive after the war. Destroying their base was a deathblow. The Illusive Man's body was never recovered, but he had no more resources. Even if he is alive, he has been quiet for some time."

Shepard pursed her lips as she thought. They walked in silence the rest of the way to the command center of the base, and then Shepard said, "There's no way to know exactly what to expect, EDI. It's important that we be prepared for anything. If our mysterious caller is content to wait, then we'll make him or her wait a few moments longer. I'm going to change into my uniform so that I don't look caught unprepared. In the meantime, I want you to summon Garrus as well as my communications expert, Halber. I'll want all three of you there when I take the call."

"Yes, Commander."

Shepard quickly went to her office and showered as quickly as possible before changing into her admiral's uniform. She made sure that she looked as professional as possible and then went to her private conference room where she found the others. Garrus also wore his uniform and stood straight backed, eyeing the blinking light on the terminal that indicated a waiting call. Next to him stood an elcor, the black and silver cloth draped over the creature's back which served as the elcor version of the uniform. Halber was short for an elcor, only about six foot five, but otherwise he looked like the rest of his race. He also seemed much more aware of how other species perceived the elcor means of speech, and Shepard knew him to employ this understanding into his unique sense of humor. His understanding of other species was precisely what made him such a valuable member of the military. As Shepard's highest ranked communications expert, Halber's job was to listen to various transmissions or watch intercepted vids and then weed out truth from fiction. Even the most subtle movement was like a fluorescent sign to an elcor. The best liar in the galaxy couldn't hide the truth from Halber.

Shepard told each of her comrades to listen to the conversation with the mysterious caller, but not make their presence known. EDI would try to trace the call and see what other information she could glean from it. Halber would listen for all the things unsaid, and Garrus would serve as Shepard's trusted advisor.

Steeling herself for the unexpected, Shepard hit the button to accept the call. The transmission asked for a voice print and she said her name. There was a moment of silence while it authenticated and then an image was projected before her, a familiar shape sitting in a chair and smoking a cigarette. "You," she murmured, glaring at the Illusive Man.

He waved his hand in front of his face to clear the smoke from his cigarette, and said, "Yes, it's me. You don't look nearly as surprised as I thought you might be."

"You're still using Cerberus encryption. I had a head's up that it might be Cerberus, but I'd hoped that you had wised up after the war and stopped causing trouble."

"Oh, I have wised up, Commander. I learned a lot from you. Hard lessons, but I learned. I watched you betray me, steal my best people, kill my top agent, and destroy my base. I watched you crush the greatest opportunity humanity ever had to achieve power. All my work and sacrifices towards controlling the Reapers... you destroyed. But you didn't destroy me. And I have work still to be done."

After the war, when Shepard realized that her encounter with the Illusive Man had been false, the result of indoctrination, she had wondered what had happened to him. She'd asked Feron to look into the Illusive Man's whereabouts, but even the Shadow Broker couldn't find him. Cerberus's financial backers were either dead or had cut all ties by the end of the war. The organization had gone up in smokes along with the main base. The whole thing had unraveled into chaos and without the Illusive Man, no one could pull it all back together. She'd hoped that he'd died somewhere along the way, killed trying to escape the base or by a Reaper. If not that, then she'd hoped that he'd at least given up - realized that he was beaten and decided to disappear quietly. But no. Here he was, alive and still playing at his same old game.

Shepard sighed and said, "Let's cut to the chase then. What are you doing now? Why show your face after all these years?"

He seemed to ponder that with a smile, pulling on his cigarette before saying, "Cut to the chase? I must admit I'm rather hurt, Shepard. Here we are, chatting after a decade apart and you want to cut our conversation short?" Then, as if they were sitting down to tea he said, "You look good, Shepard. Like you haven't aged a day. Yes, that body of yours is remarkable, isn't it? The body that Cerberus gave you."

Shepard glared at him. "Funny. I can't say the same for you." The Illusive Man had never been young when she knew him, but he looked especially worn down now. His face was a mass of wrinkles and worry lines and he looked pale. He still wore his nice suits, still put on his best face, but that face was noticeably older.

"Yes. Dealing with you will do that to a person," he said, unmoved by her words. "But things have worked out quite nicely for you since the war. Power, prestige, and the home life you always wanted. Your beautiful wife and daughter... how you must love them."

Shepard visibly bristled at that. She didn't like him mentioning her family, especially when he looked like a cat toying with a mouse. "If you even _think_ about laying a hand on them-" she began, but he cut her off.

"Oh, don't worry. I have no intention of harming them. At least, not as long as we can stay civil." He grinned, showing several of his teeth. "Though, I suppose now would be a good time to mention that I have taken someone you know. You could say that I've taken back what was originally mine."

Someone who was originally his... that could only mean Miranda or Jacob. And knowing the Illusive Man, one would be a sweeter revenge than the other. Shepard shot EDI and a look and she nodded back. She would contact c-sec and have them search Miranda's apartment on the Citadel. She would also get in contact with the rest of the council to see when Miranda was last seen.

Flicking her eyes back to the Illusive Man, Shepard said, "So, what do you want then? You don't seem like the type to deal in ransom."

"Ah, yes, but times have changed, Shepard. As I'm sure you're aware, Cerberus has existed as a... a shadow of its former self. I've been careful to keep off the radar since I am aware that the Shadow Broker is in your pocket. And that has meant leaving my financial resources behind. I'm sure the Alliance will be more than happy to pay in order to have their human councilor returned to them unharmed."

"And yet, you've called me," Shepard pointed out.

"Yes. You have something I want as well Shepard. I want you to return what you stole from me. I want the Normandy hand delivered to me. And in addition I want the AI, EDI, delivered to me as well."

"What makes you think I would possibly bend to your demands?"

"I trust that you care about Ms. Lawson's safety," he said with a shrug. "I will be contacting the Alliance soon with my demands and they will be made aware of what I require you to contribute." He activated his omni-tool. "I am sending you coordinates to the drop off location. Once you have met my demands, Ms. Lawson will be safely returned to you. I trust you'll make the right call, Commander." And with that he ended the transmission.

Shepard made an annoyed sound in her throat and turned to her companions. "That reeked of a double cross," she said. "I know that man well enough to know he never plays straight up."

"Confidently: I agree, Commander." Halber's voice came out as the usual elcor monotone, but his eyes seemed to hold interest in what he had just heard. "The Illusive Man lied about several things."

"Ok, give me the run down, Halber. Which parts were true and which were lies?"

"Sympathetically: It is true that he has kidnapped Councilor Lawson. Optimistically: However, it is also true that he will return her if you meet his demands. I believe this is a good indication that she is still alive." He paused briefly. "Thoughtfully: But his demands were not honest. He does not want the Normandy or EDI. He does not truly want the money either."

"Then what does he want?" Garrus mused aloud.

"Well, the drop off point is obviously a trap," Shepard said. "Maybe he wants to kill me? Lure me out in the open and then take a shot at me?"

"Direct revenge isn't really his style," Garrus replied dryly.

"You're right," Shepard agreed. "But what could he possibly hope to get from me? He said he's changed... maybe it is just as simple as wanting to kill me."

"Helpfully: Commander, there was one more detail I noticed about him." Halber took one ponderous step towards her - a rather human like gesture. He was far better than most elcor at adopting the mannerisms of other species. "Pensive: Throughout your conversation he watched you very closely, trying to observe your reaction. Much like how I was observing him. He seemed more interested in how you reacted than what you said. Pondering: I think he knew that you would identify his lies."

Shepard ran a hand straight back through her hair without disturbing it from its bun. "So, you're saying that he knew I wouldn't buy his crap, and he wanted to see how I would react to it." Gesturing with her hands, Shepard added, "He called in order to lie to me, knowing that I would see through him and therefore come up with some way to trick him, while he simultaneously prepares some sort of trick for me." She shook her head. "Wow, look how far down the rabbit hole goes..."

"That's more like the Illusive Man we know," Garrus said.

Shepard began to pace while she thought about her next step. Getting Miranda back was the top priority, but there was definitely a trap in the works. She would need to be smart and careful about her approach. Still, time was of the essence. She didn't want to leave her friend in the Illusive Man's hands for too long. To fight her old enemy she would need information, and there was only one person with more resources when it came to information than the Illusive Man: The Shadow Broker.

She stopped pacing and looked at her companions. "Here's what I need done. First, Halber, I will temporarily be assigning you to the Normandy to work directly for me on this mission. You can go ahead and pack your things. I'll have the paperwork in order within the hour."

"Respectfully: Yes, Commander." The elcor moved off towards the door.

"Second, Garrus, you'll also be coming with me on this mission. I need you if shit hits the fan."

"Wouldn't miss it, Shepard," he replied back with a grin.

"Third, EDI, I need you to contact Liara and ask her to come here immediately. I need to talk to her about calling in a favor with an old friend. If you tell her that I can't discuss details over the phone, she'll understand. But before you do that, did you dig up any information on what happened to Miranda?"

"Yes, c-sec had just begun their investigation when I made contact. There were apparent signs of a struggle at Ms. Lawson's apartment. The last person she spoke to in person seems to be a volus diplomat shortly before she left work. The last call she made appears to be to her sister, Oriana. No one knows what happened to her after that."

"So, in other words, they waited until she was alone and then took her."

"Yes."

Shepard made an angry noise in her throat and shook her head. "Well, the Illusive Man will know how to cover his tracks. We shouldn't expect many clues. Please call my wife and tell her to meet me here. I'll be in my office. Garrus, you might want to prepare to leave. I want to ship out by tonight."

In her office, Shepard prepared the paperwork for Halber and Garrus's transfers to the Normandy. She also made contact with c-sec to talk to them personally about Miranda's disappearance. They had little to say, but Shepard requested that they hold off on making an announcement to the public for at least another 24 hours. She expected a call from the Alliance soon and she felt their conversation would go more smoothly if the Alliance did not feel under pressure from the public. As she worked, Liara showed up at her office within the hour. She had clearance to walk straight through the military compound all the way to Shepard's office and let herself in.

Shepard looked up from her work and smiled, gesturing with one hand for Liara to take a seat across from her. Liara sat down and smiled in return, but her eyes showed that the sudden call had made her anxious. No doubt she was trying to reason through why Shepard would call her out of work to meet in private.

"I'm really sorry to interrupt your work," Shepard said quickly. "You weren't in the middle of class were you?"

Liara shrugged. "I was, but the lesson was almost done anyway. I am sure my students were glad to be let out early."

"Ah, well, I am sorry," Shepard said again. "But what I have to tell you is important." She told Liara everything she knew about Miranda's disappearance and her conversation with the Illusive Man.

Liara's expression grew more troubled and when Shepard had finished she said, "This is terrible news, Shepard."

"Tell me about it," the commander agreed. Leaning forward and folding her hands on her desk, Shepard said, "I've got to rescue Miranda. Which means I need to act as quickly as possible." She could see Liara piecing together the implication before she even said it. "So, I'm shipping out tonight, Liara. I'm going to crush the Illusive Man once and for all." The frown on Liara's face told the commander that she didn't like that news one bit, so Shepard continued on before it could turn into an argument. "I want to call in a favor from Feron for this mission. If you explain to him, I'm sure he'll help. I want him to feed me information about Cerberus: their movements, their radio transmissions, anything really. We've heard nothing about Cerberus since the war ended, but I'm sure they have plenty of information about us."

"The fact that Feron has not mentioned anything about Cerberus means that they have become good at lying low, Shepard. Your best bet will probably be to intercept their radio transmissions as you get closer to their actual position and then use the Shadow Broker's resources to extract the most you can out of those."

Shepard's expression grew grave. "I can't mobilize an entire intelligence team that quickly. EDI may be able to intercept some, but the Illusive Man will probably expect her to be listening in."

"You need someone with experience intercepting messages and deciphering information," Liara pointed out.

"Well, yes, I suppose."

"Then, you need me with you."

Shepard shifted uncomfortably at that. "I don't think that's a good idea."

Liara gave her a level look. "I know you are saying that because, like usual, you would rather run off into danger alone. But if you look at it logically, Shepard, you need me with you. Since I was the Shadow Broker, I am more than skilled enough to compete with the Illusive Man at his own game. I also know how Cerberus operates, unlike someone who was not with us during the war. And since time is of the essence, a one woman team can be much more efficient."

Shepard shrugged uncomfortably. It was true that she didn't like the idea of putting Liara in danger. She knew that Liara could take care of herself - she truly did - but it was never easy putting the woman she loved at risk. But arguing that point would only insult Liara and make her angry, so Shepard tried a different approach. "What about Benny? She'll be upset if we both leave suddenly."

That gave Liara a moment of pause, but she replied, "Benny's class field trip to the Citadel starts tomorrow. She will hardly notice we are gone since she will be on her trip as well."

"Aren't you supposed to be a chaperone for that?"

Liara shrugged. "I will ask my mother to fill in. I am certain she will agree if it is for Benny's sake." Then, frowning, Liara added, "But now that you mention Benny, I am wondering if the Illusive Man would try to hurt her. Maybe we should try to hide her."

Shepard shook her head. "He said that he wasn't going to harm either you or Benny, and Halber says he wasn't lying. I don't want to scare Benny by forcing her into hiding, plus I don't think she's ready to know about..." Shepard waved her hand as she tried to think of some way to sum up her and Liara's shared history. "This," she finished weakly. "Still, you make a good point. I'll make sure our girl has another guardian angel looking over her shoulder. I'll ask James to go on the field trip as a chaperone as well. He's actually on shore leave right now, but I'm sure he'll do us this favor."

Liara nodded. "Yes, that would make me feel better."

Shepard realized suddenly that Liara had already won the argument. She'd practically agreed just by arguing logistics and by volunteering James to guard their daughter while they were away. She could hardly argue with Liara now. And the truth was, she did need someone who could fight the Illusive Man on his own terms. She needed a shadow broker.

Sighing, Shepard said, "I guess you'd better call Aethyta."

"She is supposed to pick Benny up from school today. I will call her and ask her to bring Benny here so we can talk to them both."

Leaning back in her chair, Shepard tapped her forefinger on her desk. "So, how do we tell Benny all this? I don't want to tell her about Miranda. It will just upset her. But she will know something is up when we both leave on the Normandy."

Liara thought for a few moments before saying, "We can tell her that we have to deal with something related to the Reaper War. It is technically true, after all. She might not think much of it since we have gone to memorials for the war before. She has only known us as being retired from fighting. I do not think she will suspect we are hunting down a madman."

"Ok, that's what we will tell her," Shepard agreed with a nod. "Make the call to Aethyta and I will call James and finish preparations."

~.~.~.~.~

Benny shifted the weight of her book bag which hung off one shoulder as she exited the school building. Next to her, her friend, Tela, tittered excitedly about their field trip to the Citadel. Tela was asari like Benny, though her father was turian and she was a darker shade of blue, almost purple. She'd never been to the Citadel, and was asking Benny all sorts of questions since she had been multiple times with her parents. What did it look like? What kind of fun things could they do while there? Was it really as crowded as everyone said? Benny answered as best she could, smiling and laughing as they made their way to the carpool area.

Twelve years old, skinny and lanky, Benny moved with an odd mixture of pre-adolescent awkwardness and a sense of natural grace. Like most of her classmates, she was at an age where she felt less and less comfortable in her own skin. On top of that, she found herself more aware of the world around her and finding out just how big the galaxy really was. It was a daunting prospect. But like Shepard, Benny had a certain amount of swagger to her demeanor - an indomitable air of confidence that seemed to veil her doubt from the eyes of her peers.

She scanned the line of cars and after spotting her ride, said goodbye to Tela and hopped into the black sports vehicle.

"Hey, Grandma," she said, leaning over to peck the older asari on the cheek. The matriarch smiled at her granddaughter, the only person who always elicited that response from her.

"Hey, baby girl," she replied in her rough voice. She then trained her eyes on the book bag that Benny had placed in her lap. "Throw that bag in the back seat, child. You know how I think they make you carry too much stuff in there. You won't be comfortable with it in your lap."

Benny obediently hefted the bag over the seat and into the back. She had tried protesting in the past that she didn't mind holding it in her lap, but her grandma was peculiar about it. If they were walking anywhere, she wouldn't even like Benny carry the bag herself because she thought it was too heavy for a child. Even at twelve years old, Grandma still treated Benny like a little girl.

"Listen, honey, we have to swing by the military base," Grandma said. "Your parents asked me to bring you there after school."

"What for?"

"They want to talk to you." Grandma waved her hand dismissively as if the reason were of no great importance. "Something about having to go to some Reaper War related thing. They have to go on a trip."

"Oh," Benny murmured. "But Mommy is supposed to come on the field trip with us."

"I know, baby, but apparently this thing is pretty important. But don't worry, I will go with you."

Benny pursed her lips in thought and didn't say anything. She wasn't particularly upset that her mom wasn't going on the field trip anymore - she was fairly independent and didn't throw a fit if her parents couldn't be with her all the time - but the suddenness of it had caught her off guard. Her parents traveled all the time, but they never sprung it on her at the last minute. She usually knew weeks in advance.

Grandma watched her carefully, concern etched across her face, and she said, "I know you're upset that your mom can't go, but on the bright side you're more likely to get whatever you want if you're with me."

Benny couldn't help but smile at that. The way her grandma spoiled her was a well known fact. It drove her parents crazy sometimes because the matriarch would indulge Benny on anything. Benny had heard the terms "momma's boy" and "daddy's girl" before, and she knew that she was in a slightly different category: "grandma's girl."

Distracted, Benny pointed to the steering wheel of the car and asked, "Can I drive today?"

This was not an uncommon occurrence. The matriarch had a rather lax definition of what she thought was and was not appropriate for children. Carrying heavy book bags was not for children. Learning to drive cars when they were still below the legal age, however, was fine.

Grandma shrugged and gestured towards the wheel. "I don't see why not. You steer and I'll do everything else."

~.~.~.~.~

"This is for you," EDI said, placing a lollipop into Benny's right hand. The little asari looked at the candy and then to the AI and tilted her head.

"Uh... what for?" she asked. Benny and Aethyta had just arrived at the base and had been waiting at the entrance until EDI had come down to clear them through. After getting through security, they had started walking towards Shepard's office and EDI had given Benny the lollipop.

"It is customary in many cultures for children to receive sweets in reward for good behavior. Many societies practice this social conditioning of offspring. Therefore, I am rewarding your good behavior with this piece of candy."

"You didn't ask whether I've been good though," Benny pointed out.

"I accessed your grades and discovered that you are making excellent marks," EDI explained. "Good grades are directly correlated with good behavior. You have also received no demerits or any other disciplinary actions from your school."

"Oh," Benny murmured. "Um, thanks." She unwrapped the lollipop and stuck it in her mouth with a smile. EDI often engaged in quirky behaviors in an attempt to "normalize" herself. In the end, it just highlighted the fact that she only understood organic customs on a superficial level, but most people appreciated the attempt anyway. For Benny, she was so accustomed to having EDI around that she never dwelt on the odd interactions.

They walked the familiar passageways of the base while EDI tried to engage in chitchat. Or at least her version of it. A question about what Benny was studying in school quickly turned into a lecture about the intricacies of theoretical physics after Benny said that her class had started algebra. EDI's computer brain just couldn't limit itself to a 7th grade understanding of things. She had a wealth of knowledge always at her disposal, but not always the knowledge to know when others wanted to hear it. Benny let her ramble on though, and exchanged looks with her grandma, followed by shrugs that said, "I have no idea what she's talking about."

The commander's office was modeled after the communications center of the Normandy. A large circular room provided space for meetings as well as a table in the middle that could project maps and other images. On the far end stood a communication link for making calls across several billion light years. Shepard's personal office was actually tucked away in a room to the left of this central area, but one could see in through glass walls unless she artificially dimmed them.

When Benny, Aethyta, and EDI entered the room, Liara stood at the far end, talking with the projection of a drell over the comm link. Benny had never seen him before. His deep, rough voice was one she couldn't recall ever hearing.

They had arrived in time to hear Liara say, "Thank you, Feron. I appreciate you helping out on such short notice."

"It's no problem at all, Liara," he said. "Besides, it seems like you've been needing me less and less over the years. I have to admit I was starting to feel useless." He let out a self-deprecating laugh, as if they both knew that labeling what he did as useless was a grand joke. Benny didn't get the joke.

Liara chuckled too, though, and replied, "I will link to your systems the moment I get aboard the Normandy. You really are a good friend, Feron."

She ended the call and turned, eyes widening in surprise at the three standing in the doorway. "Oh, Benny," she said. "You are here already." She crossed the room towards them. "Thank you for picking her up and bringing her, Mother."

Aethyta grumbled under her breath at being called mother, but nodded her head all the same. Benny peered at her own mother and searched her face for some clue as to what her parents planned to tell her. She found nothing, so instead asked, "Who was that drell you were talking to, Mom?" She'd stopped calling Liara Mommy once she got old enough to think that the name was too babyish. She'd shortened it to Mom, although Shepard remained Momma.

"Oh, just an old friend. From back before the war."

Benny wanted to press for details, but before she could, Shepard poked her head out of her office and spotted them all gathered by the doorway. "Ah, there you are," she said, smiling. Coming out of the office to stand by Liara, she asked, "Did Grandma already tell you about our trip?"

Benny nodded. "Where are you going?"

"Oh, we have to do some big thing related to the war," Shepard answered, shrugging her shoulders as if it was a real bore to talk about. "I guess you could say it's just one of those loose ends we keep having to tie up."

Many people said that while Benny looked a lot like Liara, she seemed to have inherited more of Shepard's personality. She was bold, confident, and perhaps most importantly, good at reading other people. She knew when she was being given the slip, and she knew that her parents were not being entirely honest. Not that they were lying; they probably were going somewhere, and it was probably related to the Reaper War in some way, but it wasn't going to be as boring as they wanted her to believe. Yet, why keep it a secret? Did they not want her to feel left out if they were going somewhere fun without her? Or was it something more?

At the moment, she didn't have enough information to glean the truth. And she doubted she'd be able to get it from her parents. Perhaps she could get Grandma to reveal some information later. Yes, that would be the best tactic. Benny decided not to press her parents any further and instead asked, "When will you be back?"

"Hopefully by the time you get back from your school trip," Shepard said. "Maybe a few days later at most."

Another vague answer. Benny didn't know what to make of that.

"Are you leaving tonight?"

"Yes, very soon." The commander smiled in an apologetic sort of way. "I'm sorry we are springing this on you last minute." Then Shepard scooped Benny up in her arms, lifting the asari off the ground and pulling her into a tight hug. Despite the fact that Benny now came up to her parents' chests, the commander had no problem lifting her daughter as if she were still a small child. If they had been in public, Benny might have felt embarrassed at being picked up by her mother, but since only her family and EDI were present, she tightly wrapped her arms and legs around Shepard's torso and hugged her back. "I love you, Benny," her mother said. "Be a good girl for Grandma and don't get into a lot of trouble, ok?" She lowered her voice in a conspiratorial way and added humorously, "Don't beat anyone up unless you have to."

Benny giggled. "Ok, Momma. I'll try."

Shepard set her daughter back down and Liara pulled Benny into an embrace next. "Call me when you get to the Citadel," she said. "And make sure you pack your toothbrush, and enough clothes, and -"

"Ok, I will, Mom," Benny interrupted, rolling her eyes.

"If you need us, just call us."

Benny said goodbye to her parents and as she and her grandmother left the base, she wondered where the Normandy would really be going. She wondered what sort of loose end they would need to tie up. And she wondered why they hadn't told her the truth.


	9. Unexpected

**Ok, I'm bored of staring at this. So now you guys can stare at it instead. Mostly though, I wanted to post this before I leave for Florida for the next few days.**

**Usually I spend my author's note babbling about random things, but this time I want to actually talk about a directional choice that I have made in these stories. A lot of people have expressed confusion or disapproval of using female pronouns for Aethyta. I'm sure many people have wondered why I deliberately ignore the canon on this issue (given my usual aversion to disrupting the canon). So, for those interested in an explanation, I will provide one. If you don't ****care, now would be a good time to skip the author's note and start reading the rest of the chapter. To be clear, I do not take offense to those who wonder why I am ignoring canon. I welcome all questions and comments. I simply want to provide an explanation and convey why this is actually an important issue to me.**

**While I understand that Bioware has established Aethyta's preference for male pronouns (which I've made note of in the stories as well), I disagree with these labels. From an incredibly nerdy point of view, I think their argument is flawed. They argued that those of us wanting to use the term "mother" for Aethyta were being "egocentric dicks" because we were placing human values onto the asari. But, in actually Bioware was simply proving its own misunderstanding of their canon (which they then cemented with the ending). Since we know that asari terms for themselves translate into feminine words - maiden, matron, matriarch - it would be reasonable to assume that whatever asari call the non-birthing partner would also be a feminine term, if not necessarily the word mother. It is actually most likely a word which we would not have a translation for. And since I don't care to make one up, mother will substitute better than a male pronoun like father.**

**But putting aside my nerdiness, normally I might not care what Aethyta was called, except that I think it sets a precedent for what Shepard's title/role should be. Because I strongly disagree (emphasis on the word strongly) with calling Shepard "father," I think it is a bad idea to set the precedent with Aethyta that the partner who didn't birth the child in an asari relationship is automatically given a male pronoun. Sophia is NOT a substitute for a male Shepard. She is not fulfilling the role of the absent male hero. She IS the hero. And I've gone to great lengths to celebrate her femininity (as well as Liara's) and not butch her up, so to speak. Shepard's strength, her courage, and her willingness to protect others does not make her masculine. These traits do not conflict with her ability to be maternal and to be a mother to Benny.**

**This is why my portrayal of Liara is also atypical to some degree. Liara is assertive at key points in these stories in order to emphasize that she and Shepard do not fulfill the stereotypical relationship of the male dominated over the female. It is why Liara proposed at the same time as Shepard, why she was such a foundation in "Never Again," and why she often initiates a lot of the more aggressive sexual advances. They are equals and I go to great lengths to show this while simultaneously trying to challenge gender norms.**

**So, getting back to Aethyta. While Bioware thinks calling Aethyta a father is harmless, perhaps even funny, I disagree. I am very concerned that if I agree with Bioware and say, "Whoever didn't give birth to the child is the father," then I would have to concede that that makes Shepard the father as well. And I will not fall into gender stereotypes that way or undermine my own message. So that's why all the other characters steadfastly call Aethyta by female pronouns. By acknowledging her femininity, I am preserving Shepard's.  
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**Unexpected**

"Commander, have you studied the location that the Illusive Man sent for the drop off point?" EDI asked. Shepard and a select group of her crew stood in the main conference room of the Normandy, discussing their next move. They'd left Bekenstein several hours ago and Shepard had gathered EDI, Garrus, Liara, and Halber together so that they could try to formulate a plan.

"Not really," Shepard answered, and turned on her omni-tool. "I just noticed that it was out in the Terminus Systems." She brought the location up on the bright, orange screen and then said, "Triginta Petra in Sigurd's Cradle."

"Did you say Triginta Petra?" Garrus demanded, activating his own omni-tool to bring up the location.

"Yeah. Why?"

"That's a turian colony. The Illusive Man wants to do this exchange right under the turian's noses!"

EDI nodded and activated a holo of the planet over the main table so that everyone could see it. "Yes. That's what I found strange about it too. It is safe to assume that the Illusive Man must have some sort of foothold there if he wants us to use it as the drop off location."

"The turians would never let Cerberus operate in their system," Garrus pointed out. "They've not exactly been friendly to us in the past. How by the spirits could he have a foothold there?"

"Good question," Shepard murmured. Then she looked at Liara and said, "That'll be your first task, I suppose. See what you can dig up about Triginta Petra. Especially any human activity."

"I don't like this, Shepard," Garrus said. "It doesn't make sense for the Illusive Man to want to do this near a turian colony. If shit hits the fan, backup for us is only a radio transmission away. It's like he's picking a location that gives us an advantage."

Shepard nodded. "I know. I had assumed he wanted it out in the Terminus in order to get the jump on us, but this location doesn't make sense." She slammed her fist down on the table. "Damn him! I know he's up to something."

"Gentle reminder: until we have more information we must play into his hands, Commander," Halber said. "Councilor Lawson's life also hangs in the balance."

Sighing, Shepard said, "You're right. I know he must have something really nasty waiting for us, but there's not much we can do about it now. His traps usually end with me getting shot at though." Then, shaking her head, she turned back to Liara and asked, "You've reestablished yourself in your old office, right?"

"Yes," Liara answered, nodding. "The Normandy's systems have been linked to some of the Shadow Broker's databases as well. Triginta Petra will be the first thing I look into, but I have another suggestion as well."

Shepard raised an eyebrow at that and crossed her arms. "What is it?"

"I think we should make a stop at Omega and make a deal with Aria T'loak."

Shepard actually stepped back in surprise. "Why on earth would you want to talk to Aria?"

Liara remained completely calm and her voice came out in even, rational tones. "As far as the Terminus Systems go, Aria maintains the most impressive information network next to the Shadow Broker. Because of Omega's location as a connection point for several mass relays she keeps a tab on all the surrounding systems. She might have some useful information, and it would also be beneficial to have her keeping her eyes and ears open for the next couple of days. Besides, we must connect through the Omega system on our way to Sigurd's Cradle, so it will hardly be time consuming or unreasonable since we can refuel while there."

Shepard frowned. "I don't know if we want to get Aria involved. She's a... questionable ally at best."

"I know how to deal with Aria T'loak," Liara replied confidently. "I dealt with her when I was the Shadow Broker."

"Yeah, but you haven't met her in person," Shepard muttered to herself. But to Liara she said, "If you think it'll help you get intelligence on Cerberus, then we'll try meeting with her." Then, knowing that Joker would be listening in on the conversation from the pilot's seat, she called out, "Joker, what's our ETA?"

"We'll hit Omega in about an hour," he replied over the intercom.

Shepard nodded and said, "In the meantime, I want everyone looking into Triginta Petra. Let's see if we can figure out what the Illusive Man has planned. Dismissed."

Her companions filed out of the room to return to their various workstations while Shepard studied the holo of the planet further. Other than being a turian colony, the planet seemed completely unremarkable.

Liara also lingered behind and she watched Shepard curiously. She waited until everyone else had left and then said, "Why does stopping at Omega bother you?"

Shepard shifted her gaze to her wife. Liara always seemed to be able to read her like an open book. She doubted anyone else had picked up on her unease - except Halber, but he would never overstep bounds by confronting her about it. "I just don't like Omega," Shepard admitted. "Nothing good has ever happened there. There's always too many batarians, which you know always puts me on edge. It's also where Garrus got injured, where Samara had to kill her own daughter, and where I had to turn myself over to the Alliance and was made a prisoner on my own ship. And Aria runs it like her own personal playground. There's plenty not to like." Then she shrugged. "But I won't let that cloud my judgment. If you think that Aria will be an asset, then we'll use her."

"You do not have to meet with her," Liara suggested. "I can broker a deal on my own."

Shepard smiled and shook her head. "No. The only way you'll get an audience with Aria is if she thinks Commander Shepard has come to pay homage to the queen of Omega." She came over to Liara and affectionately laid a hand on her arm. "But don't worry. You're in charge when we're on Omega. I won't say more than two words to Aria if I can help it. That woman... well, she thinks it's fun to push my buttons." 

Liara tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, it's little things," Shepard replied with a shrug. "For example, she knows that I hate batarians, so she always sent her batarian bodyguard to relay messages to me. She also thinks I'm really uptight, so she would always offer to pay me with... well, with her strippers."

"Which, of course, you said no to," Liara said as she crossed her arms.

Shepard blinked in surprise at Liara's tone and then laughed. "You're jealous now? That's pretty cute." She leaned in to plant a quick kiss on Liara's cheek and then headed for the door, smiling.

"So, you did say no, right?" Liara called after her.

Shepard looked back over her shoulder and winked. "Of course. You're the only woman for me, T'soni."

~.~.~.~.~

The Illusive Man motioned with his hands for the guard to keep his rifle trained on Miranda Lawson. It would be careless to assume that just because she was behind bars that she was no longer a threat. Her eyes flickered between the gun and the Illusive Man, as if trying to determine which one was the greater threat. As she stood in the cell, her stance became more rigid, more cautious. His stance, in comparison, was infinitely more relaxed. He held the power here. He controlled this conversation.

She still wore her torn and sullied dress, which would make movement that much more difficult if she did manage to escape. The guards had also blindfolded her again when they brought her to the cell, so she had no idea whether she was on a space station or a planet. She had no idea where anything was outside this room. All she could see from her tiny cell was a control console on the far end of the room. Her guard had simply stood outside the cell and stared at her for the past couple of hours. They'd changed guards once.

"You'll be pleased to know that Shepard is on her way to rescue you," the Illusive Man said, as offhandedly as if he were remarking on the weather.

"Not as pleased as you are, I suspect."

He smiled. "You know me well, Miranda."

"And yet I still cannot fathom what insane scheme you've hatched this time," she replied coolly. "Have you gone completely mad? If you think you can kill Shepard, you've learned absolutely nothing."

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of killing Shepard. She's far too valuable. I may take a few shots at her in order to keep her on her toes, but nothing more than that."

"Then what are you up to?" Miranda demanded. "You'll never convince her to work for you again. You know that she's coming to kill you."

The Illusive Man shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. "You, Miranda, of all people, should know just how easily a person's mind can be changed. Before Shepard came along, you belonged to me. I gave you everything you ever wanted - freedom, purpose, power - and you repaid me as my most trusted agent. Then, along comes Shepard and you fall down on your knees to worship the hero. I knew I would probably lose Jacob, that was a loss I could easily afford, but not you. I thought you'd be strong enough to resist."

Miranda wrinkled her nose in disgust. She could smell his bullshit. "It's that sort of thinking that shows how different you are from Shepard. All you care about is what you think I owe you. You did favors for me because you knew that you could collect on them later. I was never a person to you. I was just a resource, like everyone else. But Shepard isn't like you. It's never about what I owe her. It's about our friendship and the trust we have in one another."

"A stirring speech," the Illusive Man said dryly. "However, I am not easily moved by sentimentality." He paused, studying Miranda for a moment and then said, "I have always been curious though, after you betrayed me, did you ever miss working for Cerberus?"

He probably expected her to pause and think about that. Instead, her answer was instantaneous. "No," she replied honestly. "By the time I left, I hated you. I saw you for what you really were. A manipulator."

He just shrugged in response. "A pity." Then, uncrossing his arms he added, "I didn't come to reminisce about the past, however. I came to see if you would be at all cooperative. I think I have my answer to that question. Ah well, an uncooperative mind will make my task harder in the long run, but I had prepared myself for this outcome." He shrugged again and then headed for the door. "For now, enjoy your safety. I need to prepare for Shepard's next move."

And with that, he left.

~.~.~.~.~

Omega was just as she remembered it. Dirty, corrupt, and seemingly always on the edge of chaos. Shepard sighed as she disembarked from the ship and then tried to steel herself in preparation for the next half an hour or so. Liara walked beside her, dressed in her old light armor from back during the war. They walked in silence out of the docking area and to the bright, vibrant club that served as Aria's castle: Afterlife. No one stopped them as they bypassed the line. Shepard suspected that, like always, Aria was well aware that the commander was here and heading her way.

Afterlife was also as noisy as she remembered. She felt her pulse automatically quicken to match the thumping of the bass, and the stench of smoke, alcohol, and sweat greeted them once they entered the building. Shepard stepped a little closer to Liara and cast threatening looks at anyone who stared at her wife a little too long.

The pair walked straight up the stairs, past Aria's guards until they were stopped before the queen herself. Aria made a show of not noticing them, instead looking over her shoulder at a dancer a few feet away. Shepard couldn't help rolling her eyes, but said nothing as they waited. When Aria finally turned her head to look back at them, she made a small gesture to the guard blocking their path and he stepped aside.

"Ah, Shepard," she said, crossing her legs and leaning back on her couch. "You've come back to Omega. Did your life of being a righteous savior get too boring for you?"

"I'm here on business," Shepard replied, her voice emotionless. Then she nodded to Liara to go ahead and take over the conversation.

Liara stepped forward and said, "Aria T'loak, I speak on behalf of the Shadow Broker in this matter. In exchange for-"

But Aria wasn't listening. She waved Liara's prepared speech away and said, "You're Liara T'soni, aren't you? Benezia's daughter and our dear, sweet Shepard's wife. It's so interesting to finally meet you."

Liara faltered at that. She glanced at Shepard briefly and then said, "Who I am is not important. We are requesting your help on an urgent matter."

Aria studied Liara for a while and then shifted her gaze to Shepard. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "She's a pretty one, Shepard. And young too. I have to say, I'm impressed. Tying a maiden down with kids and a home life is not an easy thing to do. You must be better in bed than I thought."

Shepard ground her teeth, but refused to retort. If she refused to get angry, then Aria would get bored with her game.

Aria's grin grew wider. "To be honest, I always figured you must be pretty bad at it. You're just so uptight. But you know, some people say, the more boring they appear on the outside, the more freaky they are in the bedroom."

Shepard saw Liara's hands ball into fists and her voice was angry when she next spoke. "We have come to make a deal with you. But if all you want to do is waste time, then we can leave."

Aria cocked her head and looked amused. "Don't like me airing your private life, T'soni?" Then her expression changed and she looked more severe, more menacing. "Fine, have it your way. What do you want?"

"We are tracking what remains of Cerberus-"

"Cerberus?" Aria interrupted, her tone suddenly heated. "I thought they were destroyed."

"As did we. Apparently the Illusive Man is still alive and plotting."

Aria let out a low growl. "That bastard. I still owe him for taking Omega from me. Where is he?"

Liara shook her head. "We do not know. We are tracking him now. Which is why we want you to be on the lookout for any transmissions that might be from Cerberus. We want you to scan the airwaves and forward us anything that might be of use."

Aria's expression was full of murder and she quietly brooded over the news for a minute. Then she said, "I'll gladly do it. But in exchange, I want you to kill that bastard, Shepard. None of your imprisonment bullshit."

"He would never let me take him alive anyway," Shepard said. "But yes, I'll agree to that. I owe him some payback too."

"Good." Aria forced herself to relax again. Then she stared at Liara, a thoughtful look coming into her eyes, followed by her usual deviousness. "Consider my cooperation a... gift. Perhaps in the future, T'soni, you'll give me a gift in return."

Her tone clearly implied what kind of gift she had in mind and Shepard didn't like the way Aria was eyeing Liara. She felt her blood instantly begin to boil. Stepping towards Aria threateningly, Shepard said, "Back off, Aria. You can harass me all you want, but you will not talk to Liara that way."

Aria just laughed. "Finally. Getting a rise out of you today was more difficult than usual. Peace time has made you even more boring, Shepard." She waved them away dismissively. "I'll forward anything I find. Just make sure you kill those Cerberus bastards."

~.~.~.~.~

Benny was having the weirdest day.

It had started out normal enough; her class had arrived on the Citadel for their field trip, checked into their hotel, and set out towards the first museum that they would visit. Grandma Aethyta was on her best behavior and hadn't yet picked a fight with any of the other chaperones. Benny laughed and joked with her friends as they walked along the Presidium. The Citadel looked just like she remembered, and she felt sophisticated and well-traveled compared to those who had never been on the giant space station before. Essentially, she felt excited and content. She felt normal.

Things started to change, however, when they arrived at the museum. As their teacher, Ms. Karin, talked with the people at the ticket office about their school group admission and securing a guided tour, Benny scanned the front of the building idly. Suddenly, her eyes fell on the back of a human man who was studying a poster for the new Ships Throughout History exhibit. He stood easily over six feet, broad shouldered beneath his solid black hoodie, and wearing gray cargo pants. He turned around and his eyes caught hers staring.

"Uncle James?" she blurted out, taking a few steps towards him.

He smiled, his face showing its usual kindness despite his intimidating physique. "Lil' Blue!" he called out, using his nickname for her and coming over towards the school group. "I didn't expect to see you here!" When he reached her, he leaned down to hug her and scooped her off the ground easily. It was like she weighed nothing at all to him. She must have looked tiny in comparison. Her classmates gawked at the gigantic man who Benny had just called uncle.

When he set her down again, Benny said, "I'm on a class field trip. What are you doing here?"

"I'm on leave right now and thought I'd play tourist on the Citadel. Usually I hang around the Wards and find a card game to get in on, but I decided to try something a little different this time." Grandma had noticed Benny talking to James and had come over to stand by her granddaughter's shoulder. When James saw her, he flashed one of his charming smiles and said, "Hey, Roxie is here too. Two of my favorite ladies. What a pleasant surprise!" He snapped his fingers and added, "You know what? Why don't I tag along with you guys? Then I won't have to be so lonely today."

Benny looked at Grandma to see if that would be alright. She'd love to have Uncle James around. He was always funny and amiable.

Aethyta nodded her head and said, "Sure, why not? I will let the teacher know that you are a family friend."

James joined their group and the day seemed to proceed along again normally. The tour guide hated James because he made jokes at just about every exhibit. In response, Benny's classmates loved him. He became instantly popular and, therefore, so did Benny. She grinned with pride at all the attention and at being associated with such a cool family member. She couldn't remember the last time she'd gotten so much attention.

Yet, running into her uncle at the museum was not what had made the day so weird. That came later, when Benny and her friends were exploring the military section of the museum. Several of the exhibits were interactive, and while playing in the Alliance exhibit, Benny overheard something that shaded the rest of the day.

Benny was last in line to crawl into a replication tunnel, meant to recreate a battle called Torfan that had happened many years ago. Behind her was another exhibit for a battle called the Skyllian Blitz. It was a fairly boring exhibit because it was just a bunch of pictures and nothing interactive to play with, and she hadn't heard much of what the tour guide had said about it because Uncle James had been telling a story about stupid mistakes he had made when he was just a private in the Alliance. At the moment, Benny stood alone, her friend, Tela, having just entered the tunnel ahead of her and the rest of the class spread out all over the exhibit.

She was just about to enter the tunnel when she heard a little human boy standing with his mom in front of the Skyllian Blitz exhibit say, "Wasn't Commander Shepard in this battle?"

"Yes, she was."

"Did she beat up the Reapers?" he asked excitedly. Benny turned and looked at them, her brow furrowed as she strained to overhear their conversation. Were they talking about her mother? There might have been other soldiers with the last name Shepard, but she also knew that her mother had been an important person in the Alliance military.

The boy's mother smiled, amused, and said, "No, Sweetie. This was long before the Reapers. She saved the colony from batarians." Guiding him over to another portion of the exhibit, she added, "Look, here's a picture of Commander Shepard receiving the Star of Terra."

"Why was she fighting batarians?" he asked.

"The batarians used to be a big problem for humans. They used to attack us and they killed a lot of people. But when they attacked Elysium, Commander Shepard stopped them. She stood alone against them and stopped them from entering the city. Wasn't that brave?"

The boy nodded. "And then she fought the Reapers?" he guessed.

His mother laughed. "Not quite yet. She did a lot of things before she fought the Reapers. You remember, Danny, don't you? She also stopped the spectre Saren from destroying the Citadel."

"Oh yeah," he said sheepishly. "I remember."

"I'm sure there's a book about Commander Shepard in the gift shop. We'll look for one when we leave ok?"

The pair moved off towards another exhibit and Benny watched them go. Her stomach twisted uncomfortably. Walking away from the tunnel, she approached the Blitz exhibit and scanned the pictures on the wall with more interest. She approached the one that the mother had pointed out and found herself staring at a picture of her own mother. Shepard stood tall and rigid, her eyes focusing on something off in the distance. The five pointed, silver Star of Terra hung around her neck. Surprisingly, she looked only a little younger than she did now and her scar was over the wrong eyebrow and looked much fresher; but it was undeniably her mother.

A thousand different thoughts flashed through Benny's head. Her mother was part of a museum exhibit. She was obviously famous enough for those random strangers to have a conversation about her. And apparently famous enough to have books written about her. But she'd never talked about the Blitz before. Never talked about a spectre named Saren. Never talked about saving the Citadel. In fact, now that Benny thought about it, she realized that she knew almost nothing about her parents' pasts. If Shepard was a big Alliance hero, then how did she meet Liara? Why did they end up fighting in the Reaper war? Just how famous were they?

"There you are," came a voice from behind her, causing Benny to jump out of her thoughts. She turned to see Uncle James striding quickly towards her, his easy going smile absent from his face. Instead he looked deeply concerned and even a little afraid. "I thought you were going through the tunnel with your friends. I got worried when I didn't see you come out the other end."

"Oh, sorry," Benny murmured, stepping away from the photo of her mother. But James still seemed on edge. She could understand him worrying that she had gotten lost, but the expression on his face was graver than that. It was as if he had assumed something terrible had actually happened to her. It just added to her feelings of being unsettled. "I was just looking at this exhibit," she explained.

He glanced around and his face became even darker. "The Skyllian Blitz. What do you want to know about the Blitz?" Then his eyes fell on the photo of Shepard only three feet away from Benny and he frowned. "Oh," he muttered.

They stood in awkward silence for a while, though even Benny was not sure why it was so awkward. There was something unsaid going on between them, some exchange of information that she was simultaneously participating in and yet not fully understanding.

Then the tension in his shoulders suddenly dissipated and the graveness from his expression vanished. He nodded towards the picture and said, "A good picture of your _madre_, huh?"

The shift in his tone shocked Benny and she didn't know how to respond. One second she thought he was about to yell at her for wandering off and the next he was acting like everything was normal.

"I think that's actually one of the first pictures of her I ever saw," he continued, rubbing his chin. "It was on a ton of recruitment posters. I remember thinking _'Caray_! Now that's a senorita I'd follow into battle.'" He grinned. "Of course, at the time, I never thought I would end up doing just that."

"Uncle James..." Benny said carefully, staring at him intently to gauge whether he would lie to her. "How famous is my mother?"

James sighed and turned his head to mutter, "Lola is gonna kill me when she finds out about this." Then, turning back to Benny he said, "She's really famous, Lil' Blue. There's no one in the entire galaxy more famous."

Benny felt like her entire world had been ripped out from under her.

~.~.~.~.~

"This is Admiral-Commander Shepard of the United Galactic Military. I am requesting permission to dock on Triginta Petra in accordance with 14 G.C. 95."

Shepard stood at Joker's shoulder, staring at the screen that showed the open channel between the Normandy and the flight tower on Trignita Petra. There was silence on the other end at the moment, but that wasn't too surprising. They probably wanted to take a moment to verify the information she had forwarded them before they gave her the all clear to land. While she waited for their response, Shepard went through her plan of action once more in her head. They would land and then arrange a meeting with whoever was in control of the planet's defense. She would explain the situation and recommend that the colony take measures to defend themselves in case Cerberus decided to strike. For the most part, however, she did not want to get the colony involved. Their police force would hardly be equipped to take on Cerberus or assist in this confrontation. It would be best to keep the civilians out of the way. The most she would request from them was that they use their AA towers to shoot down any Cerberus vessels if they tried to flee the planet. Then her crew would head for the drop off point and spring the trap.

A male turian voice came over the channel, his tone far from pleasant. "You are not authorized to be here. Turn back now."

Shepard started at that, eyes wide in shock. "Excuse me?" she blurted out. She hadn't been refused entry to land anywhere in years. In fact, she only ever asked as a formality. In truth, her combined status of spectre and commander of the Galactic Military gave her the authority to go wherever she pleased. She tried to keep the anger out of her voice. "Perhaps you don't understand, but 14 G.C. 95 gives the Galactic Military the authority to-"

"If you do not turn back now, we will fire at your vessel," the turian voice interrupted.

Shepard gaped at the screen. Joker also stared at it wide-eyed and then gave Shepard a look that said, "Are they serious?" A tiny colony like Triginta Petra would not have the firepower to take down a ship like the Normandy. The best they could deal with would be a single pirate ship. Maybe two on a good day.

"You cannot compete with the Normandy," Shepard warned. "We have a fully outfitted frigate and are also equipped with a thanix cannon. We are here to protect your colony from a terrorist organization, not to fight. I can show you my full credentials once we land."

Silence on the other end. Shepard and Joker exchanged looks, panic clear on both their faces. What on earth was going on? Why would the turians be acting this way?

Shepard laid her hand on the back of Joker's chair and quietly said, "Be ready, Joker. They might do something stupid."

As if that was a trigger, an alarm sounded on the main console telling them that one of the AA towers had locked onto the Normandy and was preparing to fire. Joker reacted instantly and threw the Normandy into an evasive maneuver, deftly dodging the incoming fire.

"Drop off their radar," Shepard commanded.

Joker activated the stealth drive so that the towers would have to be aimed manually if the turians wanted to continue their assault. "Do we engage, Commander?" he asked, his voice still full of disbelief.

"No," Shepard said. "I'm not going to attack a colony. I don't know how the Illusive Man got the turians to side with him, but this seems like bait. He wants me to wipe them off the map." She could see on the console that the turians were targeting them again. They would resume their attack soon. "You shouldn't have any problem evading them, Joker. Bring us in close and I'll take a team down to secure the main compound. If any ships leave this planet, I want to know about it."

Joker nodded and then grumbled under his breath, "With our luck they probably started shooting at us because you didn't say _please_."


	10. Hidden Truths

**Well, this has gotten out of hand. Here I was, optimistically thinking that I could complete this story line in three chapters. But, of course, I was being woefully unrealistic. Juggling three story lines produces a lot more content than I was expecting. Ah well. More to read, I guess. We should start a betting pool on how many more chapters this will take. I'm gonna put my money on three more, but again, I could be optimistic.**

**I don't have much else to share at the moment except to say that my birthday was just a few days ago. Another year older and maybe another year wiser. Let's hope I get better with age rather than worse.**

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.**

**Hidden Truths**

The turians seemed legitimately bewildered when Shepard kicked in the door to the communications tower and told her squad to secure the building. She'd brought Garrus, Liara, and a handful of other biotics along with the order not to harm anyone. The biotics trapped the majority of people in stasis fields, and Garrus used only concussive rounds in order to disable potential enemies. However, for the most part, when the turians working in the defense area saw Shepard, they immediately surrendered. A few, being turians and therefore resistant to surrendering, reached for weapons, but they were subdued in less than a minute.

Shepard strode through a now completely neutralized zoned, studying the faces of the turians and finding them just as surprised as she felt. Turning back to one of her soldiers, she said, "Get Halber over here."

The soldier saluted and ran to fetch the elcor from the shuttle. Meanwhile, Garrus examined each turian carefully, checking their various insignias until stopping by one. He grabbed the other turian by the arm and dragged his immobilized form over to the commander. "This is the man in charge," Garrus explained, pointing to a badge on the other turian's sleeve.

Shepard gestured to the biotics and he was released from the blue stasis field. An older turian, she could see that his hard plating was worn and cracked. He eyed her with muted brown eyes, careful, cautious. "You're Commander Shepard," he said. "I recognize you from the vids. But why are you here? What have we done to anger the council?"

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "You fired on my ship when I requested permission to land," she said flatly. "How did you think I would respond?"

"Fired on... on your ship?" the old turian stammered. "No. We would never do such a thing. I swear by the spirits, we would never turn on the council."

Garrus and Shepard exchanged skeptical looks. "Your people _did_ fire on the Normandy," Garrus stated. "We have the audio logs to prove it. We also know that Cerberus is operating in this area. If you have an alliance with them, you'd better come clean now."

"Cerberus?" The old man still seemed confused. "Wasn't that a human terrorist group? I didn't think they existed anymore."

"I have little patience for lies," Shepard warned.

"Urgently: He is telling the truth, Commander."

Shepard turned to see Halber lumbering towards them. He moved fast for an elcor and stopped only once he was within a few feet of the turian. He looked straight at him while adding, "Mild surprise: He believes every word he has said to you. In fact, he believes you must be lying to him."

Looking from the elcor to the turian and back again, Shepard asked, "How is that possible? I was at the helm when they fired on us. They made it clear that we were not welcome here."

"Uncertain: I do not know, Commander. But this man is not lying to you."

Shepard noticed that Liara had come to stand by her shoulder, and was now watching the conversation with intense interest. Garrus, who stood across from the commander, looked much more troubled. Even with Halber's assurance that the other turian was not lying, Garrus still looked skeptical.

"So, you never gave the order to attack the Normandy?" he demanded.

The old turian shook his head. "No, I never gave any such order."

"Then there's a rogue agent amongst your ranks. Who would have access to the defense systems?"

The turian didn't reply immediately. Instead, he seemed uncomfortable. But finally he said, "That would be... Irek. Up in the control tower." He nodded towards a door at the other end of the room. "That door is the only way to the tower."

"Garrus," Shepard said, also nodding towards the door. He understood her and went to retrieve Irek. The older turian watched him go, his mandibles pulled down into a frown.

"Surprised: Irek is his son," Halber said. He stared at the older turian, his black eyes taking in details that the others could not possibly read or understand.

"What?" Shepard said. "Really?"

At the same time the turian stepped back out of shock and asked, "How did you know that?"

"Didactic: Parents often have unique muscle contractions on their face when they think of their offspring. Thinking out loud: Offspring likely trigger a distinct part of the brain that is linked with the most basic forms of a species' survival instinct."

"That is amazing," Liara breathed. "I never knew that elcor could interpret such personal thoughts." She laid a hand on Shepard's arm and her eyes shone with the same enthusiasm that she got when talking about the protheans. "It was absolutely ingenious to utilize this skill in such a practical way, Shepard. It is almost as if Halber can read minds." She stepped towards the elcor and leaned her face in close. Halber, in turn, shuffled back uncomfortably. "Can you tell what I am thinking about right now?" Liara asked, excitedly.

Halber looked past Liara to Shepard. He gave an exaggerated hunch of his shoulders to convey to the commander that he didn't like this sudden attention being directed at him. Knowing that he could read any expression she made clearly, Shepard gave a look that said, "Sorry, you're on your own."

While Liara turned Halber into her newest science experiment, Shepard turned back to the turian and said, "Has your son been acting strange lately? Like he's been hiding anything?"

The man shook his head. "No. My son is loyal to the council. Like we all are. He would never..." He trailed off as Garrus reappeared, dragging a bewildered turian by the collar of his shirt. Irek was much younger, perhaps just a young adult by turian standards, and his eyes immediately went to his father in search of help. Garrus brought the boy over to Shepard, keeping a hand on his shoulder to keep him from running.

"What's going on?" Irek asked nervously.

"You fired on the Normandy when we attempted to land," Garrus said. "We know the order didn't come from above, so you must have done it on your own. Are you working with Cerberus?"

"Cerberus? What is that? I don't know anything about that."

"You want us to believe that you attacked us on your own then?" Garrus demanded.

"Attacked you? No... I didn't."

Garrus' mandibles twitched and his expression became annoyed. "I checked the logs in the tower, Irek. I know you fired the AA guns."

"Yes, but I..." Irek stammered, "I fired at some pirates earlier."

"Concerned: He believes that to be true, Commander." Halber edged away from Liara, probably relieved to have an excuse to break away from her questions.

Shepard rubbed her temple as she tried to piece through all the conflicting information. Irek believed that he had shot at pirates. None of the other turians seemed to know anything about it. And no one seemed to know anything about Cerberus.

"Perhaps Cerberus hacked into the information system and made it look like we were a pirate vessel," she offered, trying to come up with a plausible explanation.

Without warning, Irek let out an angry snarl and lunged at Shepard. His talons swiped at her face, but she managed to pull back in time so that they merely raked her left cheek, narrowly missing her eye. His talons rent into her skin, digging a gash from her cheekbone to her nose. As Shepard stumbled back, Liara trapped the turian in a stasis field and Garrus had a gun to his back in less than a second. Suddenly, everyone was tense, staring at Irek as the young turian struggled against the field that held him and stared at the commander with hate filled eyes. Shepard could feel blood seeping down to her chin and a burning sensation where Irek had cut her. Inside, she berated herself for letting her guard down and allowing him to get so close.

"What are you doing, Irek?" his father exclaimed, shock and fear mingled in his voice.

Liara approached Shepard with worry etched across her features. She touched Shepard's face, examining the cut and said, "It is bleeding a lot, Shepard."

The commander forced a reassuring smile for her wife's benefit and replied, "Don't worry. Cuts to the face always look worse than they are. It's really nothing, Liara."

Liara did not look relieved, but she also wasn't going to argue with Shepard in front of strangers and her own troops. She nodded and turned her attention back to Irek, her hands still aglow with biotic power. She glared at him, but the turian only had eyes for Shepard, who he continued to try to attack.

"Please, Commander," the father pleaded. "My son... He must not be thinking clearly. He needs a doctor. Please..."

Shepard could understand the man's concern for his son, but she had no intention of harming Irek. The only danger the boy had presented was his ability to launch a surprise attack. Now that she knew him to be a threat, he posed no real harm.

"Why did you attack me?" she demanded.

"It's what you deserve for all the turians you've killed!" Irek spat back, still fighting against the stasis field.

Shepard's eyes widened in surprise. Turians she had killed? She couldn't recall ever killing turians, at least not ones that weren't actively trying to kill her. She'd killed plenty of mercenaries, but she'd never targeted turians specifically.

"By the spirits, have you lost your mind?" Garrus asked.

Irek rolled his eyes to try to look at Garrus. "Why are you helping her?" he asked angrily. "After what she's done to our people. You're a traitor!"

Now Garrus's eyes widened. He and Shepard exchanged confused looks. "Who do you think you are talking to?" Garrus demanded.

"That's Red Regina, the pirate scum that wiped out the turian colony on Tryst. She murdered everyone. Women, children..."

Shepard looked to the father and asked, "Do I look like this Regina person?"

He stared at his son for a moment and then shook his head. "There is no such person, Commander... I have never heard of a pirate by that name."

Shepard shot Halber a questioning look. For her benefit, the elcor gave an exaggerated shrug of his shoulders - trying to mimic human body language. "Confused: Both turians believe what they are saying, Commander."

Liara had brought up her omni-tool and said, "I just checked on the colony of Tryst. There have been no recent pirate attacks. All the colonists are fine."

Shepard felt completely lost. Was the boy just crazy? Was this just a completely random event with no link to Cerberus at all? No. It wasn't possible. It was all too convenient to be a coincidence.

"Does your son have a history of mental illness?" Shepard asked.

The father shook his head. "No, never."

She shook her head. "I don't know what's going on, but I think we found the trap Cerberus set for us." Then turning to the older turian she said, "I will tell the Normandy to land now that this area is secure. I will also need to question your son. Don't worry, no harm will come to him. But I'm afraid he may have gotten into more trouble than you know."

~.~.~.~.~

Benny sat in the lobby of the hotel, tucked away in a corner of lounge chairs within view of the bar. James and Grandma sat talking at the bar, seated so that they could see Benny at all times, but keeping their distance. After their day at the museum, Benny had made it clear that she wanted to be left alone. Her classmates were all in their rooms and running around the hall upstairs, so Benny had sought refuge in the lobby. Curled up in an oversized armchair, her blue fingers lightly touched the cover of the book in her lap. She'd found it in the gift shop, a short book called _The Adventures of Commander Shepard_. It wasn't a detailed history by any means, just a basic overview of the hero's life.

She turned the first page and was greeted by an artist's rendering of a peaceful, rural colony called Mindoir. Then, from this second hand source, she began to read about her mother's history. She got up to where her mother had destroyed the collector base, and already had learned some shocking things. She learned what happened to her other set of grandparents and relatives on Mindoir. She learned that her friend, Kaidan, was named for a man who had died on Virmire - who had died so that Aunt Ashley could be saved. And she learned that she had been named after her grandmother, who had been a traitor and sided with the rogue spectre, Saren. And she learned that her mother had died, and had been miraculously brought back to life. While she was still trying to digest this information, a familiar voice snapped her back to reality.

"Oh, here you are! Whatcha readin'?"

Benny looked up to see her friend, Tela, plop down into a chair across from her. The other asari yawned and made herself comfortable on the cushions. Benny showed her the cover of the book and Tela just nodded.

"I didn't know you were a big Shepard fan," Tela said idly. Then changing the subject she added, "I'm really sleepy, but everyone is making so much noise out in the hallway. I can't sleep, but I don't really want to do play around with everyone else. So I thought I'd come find you."

Benny had half expected her friend to make some comment about how famous her mother was. Now that she knew some of the truth, Benny felt as if all eyes were on her. But when Tela didn't say anything about Shepard, Benny realized that she didn't know. None of her friends knew. Benny had rarely had friends over to her house, and most of the time Shepard was at work or on a mission. It dawned on her, suddenly, that none of her friends knew who her mother was. She wondered what they would do if they found out. Would they treat her differently? Would other people try to befriend so that they could see Commander Shepard?

Now cautious of revealing her secret, but also curious, Benny asked, "How much do you know about Commander Shepard?"

Tela shrugged. "Probably the same as most people, I guess. I've never seen her though, even though she lives on the same planet as us. My dad has seen her before though. He's in the Galactic Military and he says he's seen her a couple of times. I've heard she's really intimidating in person, but she always looks so nice on the vids."

"Do you like her?" Benny asked.

Tela laughed at that. "Well, yeah, of course. Everyone likes Shepard. She saved the galaxy. What kind of question is that?" Tela continued to laugh and shake her head.

Benny blushed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Sorry." She flipped back a couple of pages in the book and showed Tela an image of the Cerberus logo. "It's just that, I was reading that she joined this terrorist group and I started to wonder..."

Tela shook her head emphatically. "She destroyed Cerberus in the end though. After the war, when all the evidence was revealed, it showed that Shepard hadn't really joined them. She just used them. She was protecting the galaxy all along. Trust me on that. My dad says that the media has been trying to dig up dirt on Shepard for years and they never find anything. He hates it when people talk bad about her." Leaning forward excitedly, she added, "He punched a guy once for saying that Shepard only cared about humans. It was so cool."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Benny agreed, even though she still felt woefully uninformed of all these facts. Then, quietly, she asked, "What would you do if you met Commander Shepard?"

Tela shrugged. "Probably faint," she joked. "What do you say to someone like that anyway? I know she's just another person, but... well, she's kind of not, you know? She's bigger than life, in a way. She's just -" Tela made a sweeping motion with her hand that suggested she was frustrated by the lack of words to describe what she meant. Her expression became annoyed and she finally said, "She's Commander Shepard. I don't know how else to explain how important she is." Pausing briefly, she added, "What would you say to her?"

"I don't know," Benny murmured.

Tela nodded her understanding, but in reality she had no way of knowing how Benny felt. How was Benny supposed to face her mother now? Knowing that her entire life she had been unaware of who Shepard truly was. Knowing that Shepard had saved countless lives, and that people practically worshiped her. How could she go back to just calling her Mom when she knew that she was speaking to the most famous person in the galaxy? She couldn't. Things could never be the same. Suddenly, the words of that biotic instructor, Jack, came rushing back to her. People would expect great things from her. She would live in her mother's shadow.

"Are you ok?" Tela asked suddenly, her eyes studying Benny's face.

Benny was so startled by the question that she jumped. "Oh, yeah, I'm ok. Sorry, I was just thinking."

"You looked like you were going to be sick."

"No. I'm fine." When Tela still looked doubtful, Benny said, "Really."

Shrugging, Tela said, "Ok. Well, I guess I'll go see if it's quiet enough upstairs to sleep now. Are you gonna go to bed?"

"Yeah, soon," Benny answered absentmindedly, waving to her friend as she walked away. Then she looked back down at the book in her lap, and opened it to the last page she had read. Picking up where she had left off, Benny devoured every last shred of information she could find on Commander Shepard.

~.~.~.~.~

The guard was like a stone statue. No, that wasn't true. Stone statues had more personality, Miranda decided. She'd tried talking to him and he'd completely ignored her. She'd even tried using a little sex appeal to get his attention, but he might as well have been a corpse. Behind that helmet and armor he remained an immovable rock. She only knew that he wasn't dead because when she'd tried to test the kinetic barrier of her cell, he had shouted at her to back off. Well, so much for sweet talking her way out of this. She would have to get creative.

Behind the guard stood a lone console. She had seen him use it to communicate with other guards, giving his status reports and authorizing that a meal be brought to her. Even if she could hack it from her cell - which she couldn't - the console would only have limited functions. Radio channels for communication, maybe exranet access. It wasn't much, but perhaps if Miranda could open both at the same time she could get some sort of distress signal out there. Shepard was looking for her, the Illusive Man had said as much, and the commander would have her eyes and ears combing for any useful information. Sending a tiny radio signal out into space wouldn't be much, but it might be enough.

Miranda paced in her cell, stretching her legs and thinking about what resources she had available. They'd obviously taken her omni-tool from her, so a direct method was out of the question. But they couldn't take her biotics from her. She flexed her right hand and eyed the console. Then, sweeping her eyes across the rest of the room she spotted the tray from her last meal by the door. It was a plastic tray, with a plastic cup on top of it, but it was out of the guard's line of sight since his attention was focused solely on Miranda.

She frowned. Using her biotics to lift the cup would be difficult from this distance without having the biotic glow spread past her hand. The more energy needed for the task, the farther the biotic field spread around the user. If she used too much energy the guard would see the glow and stop her. Miranda only had one shot at this.

Now, to keep the guard distracted. She faced him, her arms behind her back, and said, "I'm impressed. The Illusive Man must only have true zealots available to him now. Only complete xenophobes would still follow him and remain so loyal." Behind that helmet she couldn't tell if her words had any effect on him, but as long as he thought she was preoccupied with belittling him, then he wouldn't suspect what she was really up to. Trying to keep the concentration from her face, she reached for her biotics, just enough that her right hand became aglow with blue fire. With her hands hidden behind her back, the guard wouldn't be able to see what she was doing. By the door, the plastic cup also glowed and wobbled and then lifted slowly into the air. "Still," she continued on, "I cannot imagine there are very many of you. The Illusive Man has been inactive for too many years. He won't have the resources to keep a true army." The cup floated in the air, slowly hovering towards the console. Miranda watched it from the corner of her eye. Such a tiny, insignificant thing, but keeping it afloat with only minimal biotic power was trying. A sweat broke out on her forehead, and for once she was glad that her hair was an absolute mess since it would hide the sweat from the guard. "I'd be worried if I were you," she told him. "With such a miniscule force, Commander Shepard will tear through you all like tissue paper. But, if you help me out of here, I can make sure that she spares you." He gave no reaction, which she expected at this point, but his attention was still on her. The cup was nearly to the console now, and Miranda allowed herself to seize just a little more power so that her left hand now glowed with biotics. She eased the cup over the keyboard and positioned it to drop over the input command for both the radio channel and extranet access. She knew that she'd have to drop it to get enough force to activate the commands, and that would alert the guard, giving her only seconds to get a message off.

Never breaking eye contact with the guard, Miranda let the cup drop. It clattered over the keyboard, the console beeped to life and she could see an open channel displayed on the monitor. The guard turned sharply at the sound, but Miranda was already shouting, "Shepard! This is Miranda! The Illusive Man has me imprisoned somewhere. He's -" Before she could finish, the guard quickly crossed over to the console and shut it off, ending her message abruptly. He glanced back at her, and she glared back with a stiff jaw. _I hope that was enough_, she thought. _If Shepard can trace that message back..._

The guard opened up a different channel and said, "The prisoner managed to open an unsecure channel for a few seconds. I think she was trying to contact Commander Shepard."

A gruff voice on the other end said, "Understood."

The emotionless reply shocked Miranda. She furrowed her brow in confusion and stared at the guard's back. Why weren't they more concerned? It was like they were just going through the motions. Like they didn't have a stake in anything. Didn't they care that she had outsmarted them? That Shepard might soon be coming to kill them all?

The guard left the console and came to stand in front of the cell again, watching her with the same cold indifference. Miranda watched him warily, her skin suddenly crawling. Something was wrong here. Terribly wrong.

They stared at one another in silence for a long time, and then suddenly the door to the room slammed open and the Illusive Man swept in with two more guards on his heels. Miranda was more than a little relieved to see that he was angry. Yet, he paid the guard no mind, saying absolutely nothing about his failure to stop her from sending a message. Instead he approached the kinetic barrier to her cell and crossed his arms, frowning.

"I should have known better than to think you were securely contained, Ms. Lawson," he said coldly. "Of course you'd find a way to be a thorn in my side." He tapped his index finger on his arm. "I suppose you think you're very clever for finding a way to contact Shepard. But you haven't disrupted my plans." He grinned wickedly, smug and self-assured. "You see, I want Shepard to come to me. I'll admit, I had wanted a bit more time to prepare - I had intended to keep her running around and guessing for a bit longer - but I'm flexible. Everything on the schedule just gets moved up." He uncrossed his arms and motioned to the guards. "That means starting with you, Ms. Lawson. You'll wish you had decided to cooperate very soon."

The kinetic barrier of the prison vanished and the guards began moving towards her. An immense feeling of dread settled in Miranda's stomach and she knew that she was in grave danger. Desperately, she lashed out with a biotic push, hoping to strike the Illusive Man and end him once and for all, but one of the guards was also a biotic and he threw up a barrier to protect them. Another guard wasted no time letting off a concussive round which struck Miranda on the side of the head. She stumbled back, falling against the wall as her head spun. Her eyes refused to focus and the ground seemed to shift under her feet. Suddenly she found herself being slung over the shoulder of one of the soldiers like a sack of potatoes. She tried to struggle, but she still felt dizzy from the concussive round. The guard simply ignored her.

"Now, now, Ms. Lawson," the Illusive Man chided, "you had to know this day was coming. No one crosses me and gets away with it. Very soon I'll tie up every loose end. You will be reunited with Shepard in no time at all."


	11. Crisis

**My life has been absolutely insane for the last two months or so. I am not kidding when I say that I have traveled every weekend. It has been exhausting. On top of all that, I've been swamped with work, struggling to make a decision that will greatly affect my entire life, and still trying to maintain my social life. Anyway, that's why this chapter has taken so long. My time allotted to work on this has been minimal at best. I don't really foresee my life getting much easier soon, but as always I will try my best to keep working on this story.**

**Now that you've sat through my complaining, I have a super cool amazing mega awesome announcement to share. I have started working on a new project related to Sophia and Liara's story. Specifically, a new story about their romance. I won't say when it takes place in relation to the other four stories because I don't want to spoil anything yet, but it is a story that I think was sorely missing in their timeline. I'm addressing some issues that I failed to address elsewhere and exploring some cool aspects of their characters. If you can't tell, I'm pretty excited about this project. I've been working away at it secretly, trying to decide whether it merited being shared with anyone else, and have since grown very fond of it. I'm itching to share it with you all, and I will soon. I promise. As of right now I have all of the first chapter written and a good chunk of the second and some bits and pieces of other chapters. I'll probably post the first chapter soonish in order to get it out there and all, but I want to build up some kind of buffer so that I don't have as many update problems as usual. So be on the lookout for that.**

**Related to this chapter: kudos to arcturusjourney for suggesting that Halber should get a LI. Once the suggestion was made, I thought it was too hilarious an opportunity to pass up. I like to imagine that Halber is quite the charmer. Besides, this chapter needed some comic relief.**

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.**

**Crisis**

Liara finished applying medi-gel to the cut on Shepard's face, her long, blue fingers tenderly tracing the raw, red wound. Sitting on the counter of the tiny medical facility in the defense compound of the colony, the commander waited patiently as Liara treated the cut, all the while considering how to proceed with the interrogation of Irek. How could she get information out of someone who was completely delusional? Perhaps she could think of a creative way to utilize Halber's skills in this situation. She had already called in the whole team, and they would be arriving momentarily aboard the Normandy. She had her chief medical officer prepared to test for any strange physical problems. She had her personal assistant, Lasha, prepared to comb through surveillance footage. And she had the rest of her soldiers prepared to investigate the entire base looking for clues. If the Illusive Man was up to something, she'd figure it out.

The queer itch of the medi-gel as it began stitching the skin back together brought her out of her thoughts.

"That should stop the bleeding," Liara sighed, stepping back and looking at her handiwork. Shaking her head, she added, "Only you could find the one homicidal and crazy turian on an otherwise peaceful planet. I wish you had less dangerous talents, Shepard."

The human grinned, which made the cut on her face throb as if to remind her that being too expressive at the moment was a bad idea. "Come on, Liara, let's be fair. That turian was probably planted by the Illusive Man to kill me. It wasn't just me bringing out the worst in people. My people skills aren't _that_ bad."

Liara turned her back to wash her hands in the nearby sink. "I suppose that is true, but I very nearly crushed the boy with my biotics. If I had not thought better of it at the last second... that scene could have turned into a massacre." No need for her to say which side would have won. Shepard had enough firepower to completely eliminate the colony if she wanted to. But the backlash from the turians would have been horrific. "Maybe that is what the Illusive Man wanted. For one of us to retaliate and tarnish our reputation."

"Maybe," Shepard agreed. She hopped off the counter and wrapped her arms around Liara's middle, kissing the side of her neck affectionately. "Thanks for coming to my rescue, Doctor."

Liara chuckled softly and leaned into Shepard's embrace, her back pressed against the commander's torso and her head resting on the human's shoulder. "You know, most people would be on edge after nearly having their faces clawed off, but you decided that you will take the opportunity to be romantic. I do not know if I will ever quite understand you, Shepard."

"I wouldn't ever want to become boring," she replied, finding Liara's lips with her own and drawing her into a kiss. The movement of her facial muscles made the cut ache, but she ignored it as she allowed herself to get lost in the moment. She tightened her grip around Liara's middle, pulling her in closer as she nibbled the asari's bottom lip playfully.

Suddenly there came the swoosh of a door opening and they both broke the kiss to look towards the sound like two teenagers caught in the act. Shepard's assistant, Lasha, stood in the doorway, looking ready to turn around and bolt. "Ah, Commander," the young drell stammered. "I'm sorry. I can come back later. It's just that you said to report to you when the Normandy landed and..."

Shepard smiled, releasing Liara from her embrace. A long time ago, Shepard would have been mortified to have one of her soldiers catch her being unprofessional, but now she was just too old to give a crap. It was no secret that she loved Liara, so she didn't particularly mind if others saw her expressing her affection. "No, it's fine, Lasha. I need to talk to you about what's going to happen." She walked over to the drell, Liara following. Lasha and Liara gave one another polite nods, they'd interacted on several occasions and were quite comfortable with one another. "I'm going to conduct an interrogation with Halber's help. While that is going on, I want you to collect every scrap of surveillance footage from this place and examine it. Look for any signs that Cerberus was here, and also look at when Irek attacked me. See if you can pick up on anything we might have missed. I've already asked Dr. Gunasekera to do a complete physical on Irek and see if there's anything wrong with him. Liara, I want you to help him analyze those results. One of us has to turn up something useful."

"Understood, Commander," Lasha answered. Then studying Shepard with those dark, drell eyes, she added, "Ma'am, if you don't mind me saying, I can't believe someone got the jump on you."

"Ha ha," Shepard replied, touching the cut on her face self-consciously. "Laugh it up." She just knew the crew would be joking about how a kid got the best of Commander Shepard for at least a month. Heading to the door, she said, "Find me if either of you discover anything." Then she headed for the interrogation room. When she walked into the small, windowless room, Irek was already handcuffed to a chair and Halber stood across from him. The elcor only turned his head to look at her once she arrived, but the turian had an immediate, violent reaction. He struggled against his bonds, and snarled at her with an almost palpable hate. The intensity brought Shepard up short. She knew that he thought she was some sort of pirate, but his anger seemed to go beyond that. It was out of control.

Running her hand over the top of her hair and sighing, she turned to Halber and asked, "How do you want to do this?"

"Politely: I thought it would be best if I asked questions, Commander, while you observe. If you would take a seat in the corner perhaps."

She nodded and dragged a chair over to the corner and sat down. Halber turned his attention back to Irek, though the turian had his eyes trained on the commander. "Friendly: Irek, my name is Halber, and I'm going to ask you a few questions on behalf of the Galactic Military. Will you cooperate?"

The young turian glared at him and his mandibles twitched down into something like a scowl. "Maybe. Depends on what you ask."

_So young_, Shepard thought. _He must be the equivalent of a teenager for humans. Young, rebellious... and stupid. No wonder he managed to find so much trouble._

"Carefully: I know you believe this woman to be a pirate, but what if I told you that she was actually Admiral-Commander Shepard?"

Irek snarled at him. "I'd call you a liar. Do you think I'm blind? I know what Commander Shepard looks like. Everyone does."

"Intrigued: Ok, then. Describe Commander Shepard."

The boy blinked in surprise. "What's the point of this?" When Halber didn't answer, Irek said, "Commander Shepard is a human with black uh... fringe? I don't know what they call it. The stuff on their heads. It's always slicked back in some sort of military style. She has sort of bluish purple eyes, a scar just above one of them. Uh, she's not that tall. Average for a human, I guess? I don't know. What else do you want to know about her?"

Shepard raised an eyebrow at him and crossed her arms over her chest. How could he not see that he'd just described her?

Halber gave no reaction, however, and said, "Calmly: And the woman sitting in the corner, what does she look like?"

Irek gave him a deeply confused look. Glancing warily between the two of them, he said, "Tall woman, with a dark fringe cut really close to the head. Kinda like a human male, maybe. Green eyes. A couple of scars along her jaw."

"Surprised: I see."

"So, he's hallucinating?" Shepard asked. "What on earth does this mean?"

Halber turned slightly towards the commander and said, "Confidently: He did not lie, so he must believe that you are truly someone else. This proves there must be something wrong with his brain. He isn't working for Cerberus."

"Great," Shepard answered, "but that doesn't tell us _why_ he thinks I'm someone else."

Halber thought for a moment, then turned back to the turian and said, "Inquisitive: Irek, have you encountered anyone strange in the last few months? Had contact with any visitors to your colony?"

"You mean other than you guys?" he replied sarcastically. Shepard shook her head, thinking again of just how young the boy must be if he would backtalk in this situation.

"Insistent: Anyone strange?"

"No. I don't remember anyone strange. It's been pretty normal until you showed up."

Before Halber could ask a follow up question, there was a loud knock at the door. Shepard rose and looked through the narrow slit of a window to see Lasha standing outside, looking anxious. Turning back, the commander motioned for Halber to follow her outside. They exited the room, leaving Irek handcuffed to the chair, and Lasha immediately jumped into her reason for coming.

"I think I've found something, Commander. Something strange, at least."

"How did you discover something so fast?" Shepard wondered.

Lasha shifted her shoulders in an almost impatient way, as if it were all really quite simple. "I'm a drell, so I only need to watched the footage once. Then, because of my perfect memory, I can replay it in my head a million times, but a lot faster than actually doing it in real time. I've already gone through the footage probably fifteen times. And I noticed something peculiar."

"Wistful: How wonderful it would be to have a perfect memory so that I might perfectly recall your beauty."

Shepard blinked at the elcor, her eyes wide. Had he just hit on Lasha? Her drell assistant seemed equally as stunned and they both stared at him for a minute. Then, unsure what to say, Lasha just stumbled on, "Um... So, I thought it was strange that Irek waited so long to attack you. He waits almost two minutes before making his move and until then he doesn't even seem to notice the commander. The trigger, it appears, is when you speak. The second you say something, that's when his entire personality seems to shift. Therefore, I think your voice was somehow the spring for Cerberus's trap."

Shepard rubbed the back of her neck and said, "But what does it all mean?"

"Certain: It means that he has been conditioned," Halber said. "Clarifying: He has been conditioned to recognize and attack you based on your voice."

"And I think we know how," came Liara's voice, as she and Doctor Gunasekera appeared at the other end of the hall. The doctor was a tall, Indian man, with thick, black hair and a tightly cropped beard. He'd been Shepard chief medical officer ever since Doctor Chakwas had retired. Well, retired wasn't quite the right word. That woman was not one to sit idle, even in her old age. But once she had relented that she was getting too old to travel on spaceships all the time, she had agreed to transfer to a small clinic on Bekenstein. She'd personally recommended Doctor Gunasekera to take her place. Calm and easy to get along with, Gunasekera was always ready with a smile or a joke, even though he was a perfectionist when it came to his work.

When the pair reached Shepard and the others, Liara launched into her explanation. "Doctor Gunasekera immediately performed the tests you asked for before sending Irek to the interrogation room. By the time I arrived to help, he had already noticed a peculiarity with the brain scan."

"The brain scan?"

Gunasekera nodded. "Yes, Commander. I noticed that it didn't look quite right. Here, I brought a copy with us." He held a folder in his hand and opened it to produce a sheet of paper which he handed to Shepard. She squinted at the image, realizing it was a brain, but not really sure what else she should be looking for. The brain was divided into many colored sections, many bright oranges and reds next to blues and greens. Gunasekera pointed to two points next the bottom of the sheet and to the left. "Do you notice these two points that are bright white?"

Shepard nodded. "Yeah. They kind of look like hooks."

"A good observation," the doctor said, smiling as if he were teaching a class on the subject. "White represents an extremely active portion of the brain. At first I wondered if there was some sort of foreign body present in his brain, but my other scans showed that not to be the case. So, I was baffled by this abnormality. Notice the two regions where these 'hooks' are present: the temporal and occipital lobes. These are the parts of the brain associated with memory and hearing, and visual processing respectively."

"Excitement: That could explain Irek's hallucinations," Halber put in.

The doctor nodded his agreement. "It certainly could. Still, the question remained as to what these 'hooks' were. But when I showed these scans to Dr. T'soni, she had an idea. Really, it was quite brilliant."

Liara blushed at the praise and shook her head. "No, it was nothing. It was just that when Dr. Gunasekera explained the medical implications to me that I made a realization. I did not really do anything."

The human doctor reached into his folder again and handed Shepard a second copy of a brain scan. This one looked similar to the first, including the hooks, but instead of being white, the spots were grayed out. "Dr. T'soni is being too modest," Gunasekera insisted as he pointed to the second scan. "Without access to this document, we could not have solved the mystery."

"So, uh, what are we looking at?" Shepard asked, feeling a bit out of her element with all this medical information.

"That is actually your brain, Commander."

"What? Mine?"

Liara nodded. "It was taken right after the Reaper War, when you were being treated at the hospital. I asked Feron to locate the document for me and send it. I had a hunch, but I needed to be sure. Do you realize what this means Shepard?"

The commander looked between the two scans, processing what she had just learned and wondering at the similarity between her and Irek's brain scans. Then it hit her. "Indoctrination," she whispered.

"Yes," Liara agreed. "That is what I realized as well. The boy is indoctrinated."

All the pieces fell into place. Irek's behavior could easily be linked to indoctrination. It was why he didn't see the commander as herself, why he had such strong feelings towards a fake identity, and why he had only been triggered by her voice. And she knew the Illusive Man was capable of it. He had been working on indoctrination when she had destroyed his base all those years ago. He must have spent the last decade perfecting it.

Halber leaned towards Shepard's shoulder in order to look at the two scans. "Curious: If these hooks are what cause indoctrination, then why are the boy's white and the commander's gray?"

Gunasekera rubbed his chin as he thought. "That's a hard question to answer. I would guess that it means one of two things. Either these 'hooks' that where inserted into the commander's brain are still present, but inactive, which would suggest that new hooks cannot be added. Effectively making the commander immune to further indoctrination. Or, they are empty space from when the 'hooks' were... ripped out is the best way to put it, I suppose. Which would suggest the opposite: that the commander is more susceptible to indoctrination. It is hard to say which is the more accurate statement."

"I'd rather it be the first, but I also don't really want to test it out," Shepard muttered. Staring at the scans, she couldn't help but feel that the answer had been glaring at her this entire time. She knew that the Illusive Man had been developing indoctrination techniques. That he had even used it on his own troops. Why hadn't she realized that he would never just give up on that goal? Indoctrination was one of the most powerful tools that the Reapers had had at their disposal. The Illusive Man wanted that power and he would do anything to obtain it. Then another realization hit her like a sledgehammer.

"Oh God," she whispered. "Miranda."

Liara's eyes widened as she made the connection as well. "By the Goddess, you are right, Shepard. He is going to indoctrinate Miranda. If he controls the human councilor, he controls human interests in the political realm."

"Deeply troubled: Irek was just a distraction," Halber put in. "He wanted us to waste our time here."

"It wasn't a complete loss," Lasha said. "At least we know what he's up to now. It's not like we're coming at him blind."

"Contritely: You're as smart as you are beautiful. We have gained valuable information." Shepard had to bite back a grin, especially when she saw the way Liara and Dr. Gunasekera gawked at Halber's flirting with Lasha. The drell looked terribly confused, and Shepard couldn't blame her. There was something both amusing and disconcerting about hearing romantic words said in a monotone, yet knowing that Halber was being completely sincere. "Worriedly: I just hope we are not too late to save the councilor," Halber continued.

Suddenly, EDI's voice came over the radio and Shepard put two fingers to her ear to listen. "Commander?" the AI said, "Aria T'loak has just forwarded a transmission to the Normandy. It appears to be a distress signal from Ms. Lawson."

"I'm on my way right now," the commander said. Turning her attention back to the others she added, "Everyone gather your things and report back to the Normandy immediately. Halber, you can leave Irek for now and tell the turians that they can release him once we leave. We won't be pressing any charges or anything. It seems that he's only a danger to me, so if I stay away he should go back to normal. You can tell his father about the indoctrination if you think he should know, but you should mention that there is no known cure. They just need to keep an eye on him and keep him out of Citadel space."

"Gravely: Understood, Commander."

Shepard rushed back to the Normandy with Liara beside her while the others went to complete their own tasks. She jogged down the unfamiliar corridors of the turian defense compound and radioed to EDI to call back all the troops. Boarding the ship, Shepard turned left into the cockpit and found EDI and Joker both looking concerned.

"Apparently this message was sent over open channels and Aria's people managed to intercept it," EDI said quickly. "I have used vocal markers to confirm that it is Ms. Lawson's voice in the message. It is very short, Shepard." A monitor popped up on the ship's control panel and the transmission began to play.

"Shepard! This is Miranda! The Illusive Man has me imprisoned somewhere. He's -" The message cut off abruptly. Shepard balled her hands into fists. She wanted to tear the Illusive Man's head from his shoulders. If he wanted to get to her, she would rather that he just came at her directly. But he was smart, and he knew that this method was much more effective. Abusing others to get to Shepard was an easy way to put her on edge and make her act impulsively.

Taking a deep breath, Shepard forced herself to focus and not let her anger get the better of her. "Could you trace it?" she asked.

"Yes, I have. I've determined that the call originated from the Sowilo System in the Hourglass Nebula."

"Sowilo?" Liara exclaimed. "That is where Hagalaz is."

"The Shadow Broker base?" Shepard asked. "The Illusive Man set up shop right under the Shadow Broker's nose?"

Liara shook her head. "No, not really. Cerberus attacked our base on Hagalaz at the start of the war. We had to abandon it. And because Cerberus had discovered its location, Feron and I agreed that it would be a poor choice to reestablish the Broker base there after the war. Feron resides somewhere else now."

"Where?"

Liara smiled apologetically. "I am sorry, Shepard, but I really cannot say. Even I do not know. I urged Feron to pick the location on his own and never inform me. My people have a saying: secrets shared are secrets lost."

The commander shrugged. "Fair enough. Still, seems pretty gutsy of the Illusive Man to move in if the Shadow Broker thinks it is unsafe."

"Actually, it makes a lot of sense," Liara said. "The system is mostly empty so a single space station would go unnoticed. Also the Shadow Broker has distanced himself from that location, meaning he will not come looking any time soon. It is the last place we might have looked for him."

Shepard sighed. "I really wish that bastard wasn't so clever." Turning back to EDI, she asked, "And we think this distress call is legitimate? Not a trap?"

"It is hard to say, Commander," EDI answered, sounding worried. "I found no sort of encryption. Plus, if we did not have Aria T'loak actively looking for odd transmissions, there is less than 1% chance that we would have found it. I am inclined to believe that it is legitimate."

"I can contact Feron and with his resources I can pinpoint the most likely location in the system to began searching for the Illusive Man," Liara offered.

"Do it," Shepard said. "Joker, how long will it take to get to the Sowilo System?"

The pilot brought up one of his maps on his console and said, "It's two jumps from here. So about three hours."

"Set a course. I want everyone back on the Normandy now."

"Yes, Commander," both he and the AI said.

Shepard stalked off to find Garrus and tell him what they had learned. She would need him up to speed and ready in case they had to make hard choices. Liara followed, keeping up with Shepard's brisk pace. Her lips pulled down into a frown and when they were alone in the elevator she asked, "What if we find the Illusive Man and Miranda is already indoctrinated?"

Shepard gritted her teeth. It was the same question she had been asking herself and wishing that she didn't have to answer. "I don't know."

"Do you think that if the source of indoctrination is gone that any being controlled will be set free?"

"God, I hope so." When the Crucible had fired, it had destroyed anything controlled by the Reapers. They'd found husks dead along with several people who looked normal on the outside, but must have been indoctrinated. A grim reality to their victory. So, Shepard had no idea if killing the Illusive Man would free Miranda and anyone else he might have indoctrinated. But it seemed to reason that if you destroyed the puppeteer, then the puppet would be free. Then Shepard frowned. Or the puppet would go completely limp and lifeless. Shit, that metaphor had gone south quickly.

"And... if it does not work?" Liara asked quietly.

The elevator doors opened at the third deck and Shepard stepped off. "I'll do what needs to be done," she said grimly.

After all, she always did.

~.~.~.~.~

Benny didn't lie. She had never needed to. Uncle Wrex had told her once that lying was the greatest insult you could give to another person. You could hit them, scream at them, curse them out, and all of that was better than lying. At least if you fought with them, you thought they were a threat. But lying meant that you didn't respect them. Either you held so much contempt for them that you did not think they deserved the truth, or worse, you thought they were so weak that they couldn't handle it. And Benny had never come across a person she thought so little of that she felt compelled to lie.

Which was why she felt so miserable at the moment. Not only had her parents lied to _her_, but now she was forced to lie to the rest of the galaxy. Well, maybe not lie, but hide the truth. She couldn't tell her friends who her parents really were. She couldn't tell anyone. Plus, she had to put on a mask and pretend like everything was fine. She had to go to museums and monuments with her class and pretend like she actually gave a crap about what they were supposed to be learning. And all the while her world felt like it had been ripped out from under her.

Therefore, it was no surprise that when she finally had a moment to herself, away from the rest of her class, Benny had wandered out to the park near the hotel and sat on a bench near a pond. Not for the first time, she closed her eyes and wished that she would wake up to discover that it had all been a dream. That would be so much easier than dealing with her conflicting emotions. On the one hand, she loved her parents, and the thought of being estranged from them made her eyes well up with tears. Yet, on the other hand, they weren't just her parents anymore. They were these larger than life heroes who everyone worshipped and who the entire galaxy had known about except for her. It felt like a cruel joke played at her expense.

As she sat stewing on her feelings of betrayal, someone sat down next to her on the bench. She glared at Matriarch Aethyta, wishing that her grandmother would just leave her alone. Besides, her grandmother had lied to her as well. Everyone she loved had lied to her.

When Aethyta noticed the petulant look on the little asari's face, she rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I've let you sulk long enough, Kiddo," she said. "You're part krogan and I know better than to let a krogan nurse their anger. It just gets worse. So, let's talk. I'm sure you've got questions."

Benny did have questions, but she knew many of them had to be directed at her parents. Still, there were things her grandmother could answer. "What's really going on?" Benny demanded. "Why is Uncle James really here? Where are my parents?"

Aethyta sighed. "They're hunting down a terrorist. The leader of a group called Cerberus."

"I know who that is," Benny said. "Now."

"Well, this madman abducted the human councilor and your parents have to deal with him."

Benny's eyes widened and she felt a sudden chill. "Aunt Miranda? They're rescuing Aunt Miranda?"

Aethyta nodded.

"Are they in danger?"

Aethyta's face twisted up as if she had tasted something sour. "I don't wanna scare ya, Kiddo, but yeah. The Illusive Man is a ruthless bastard and he doesn't like your parents. Especially Shepard."

Benny gripped the edge of the seat. "We have to help them," she insisted.

In reply, Aethyta let out a disparaging snort. "What help would we be? Look, your parents are the ones that people call when things go to shit. If they don't succeed, then there is no backup. Besides, me and James are here to keep you safe and away from Cerberus."

"So, you just want me to sit here and do nothing?" Benny demanded, feeling tears threatening to fall down her cheeks. She felt so helpless; there was a battle going on a million light years away, and while her parent's lives were in danger she was playing tourist on the Citadel.

Aethyta folded her hands in her lap and leaned back. "I know it sucks. Believe me, I know what it's like to feel as if everyone you care about is suddenly out of your reach. But your parents are the best, Benny. They've made a career out of doing impossible things. You just need to trust them to do what's best."

"Trust them?" Benny muttered angrily. "They lied to me."

Sighing, Aethyta put an arm around the little asari's shoulders. "I know nothing I say is gonna fix this for you right now - I know you need to hear it all from them - but I will tell you somethin', Kiddo. You're the reason either of them is still alive."

Benny raised her eyes to stare into the matriarch's. "What do you mean?"

"The Reapers were the most terrible thing this galaxy has ever seen. Defeating them was pretty much an impossible task. Shepard and Liara... they could have refused to fight. They could have run away - Goddess knows they had the means to do it. But they didn't. And I don't know how much you've learned in the past day, but what Shepard went through to win... well, it was tough. Anyone else might have given up. Dying would have been easier. But she didn't. Both of them kept fighting and stayed alive because they wanted to see the future. They wanted to see you, Benny. You're the reason they fought so hard. You're the reason they won. So, remember that. Everything they do is for you. If they lied to you, then they had a good reason."

"But how am I supposed to look at them the same way again?"

"You don't. If there's one thing I've learned in a thousand years it's that you can't keep wishing for the past. You move forward." Aethyta patted Benny on the head, smiling warmly. "Maybe you'll learn things about yourself in the process. And maybe you'll realize that you don't just love your parents, but you respect 'em too."


End file.
